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THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

AND THE IMPERIAL DISEASE 




I 




I 










/ 















PALACE OF THE VESTAL VIRGINS AND IMPERIAL PALACES OF TIBERIUS AND CALIGULA 

[restored IN ROME BY VINCENZO BENVENUTll 




























THE HOUSE OF 

CAESAR 

AND THE IMPERIAL DISEASE 

BY SEYMOUR VAN SANTVOORD 



PAFRAETS BOOK COMPANY 
TROY NEW YORK MDCCCCII 


Copyright , 1901 , fo/ Seymour Van Santvoord 


TthE l igfiARV OF 

' CONGRESS, 
Two Copies Received 

DEC. 28 1901 

EWTf,v 

Idee . 

CLASS ^XXc No. 

COPf B, ’ r 


fjT- 




D . 

,A 




D. B. Updike, The Merrymount Press, Boston 



















TO THE MEMORY 
OF 

AN HONORED FATHER 
WHOSE NAME 
IS NOT UNKNOWN 
IN THE FIELD OF LETTERS 
THIS MODEST EXCURSION 
AMONG SOME OF 
THE BOOKS HE LOVED 
AND BEQUEATHED TO HIS SON 
IS AFFECTIONATELY 


INSCRIBED 


Homo sum; humani nil a me alienum puto. 

TERENCE. 


I am human; nothing that is human can 
I regard as alien to me. 


donner’s translation. 


























































































































































I 



A PART OF THE FORUM ROMANUM SHOWING THE TEMPLES OF VENUS AND ROME, OF THE VESTAL 
Virgins, of julius c^esar, of castor and pollux, and a corner of the basilica of julia [restored by becchettiI 




















































PREFACE 


Prefaces to books are usually of two sorts: explanatory 
and apologetic. For this reason, perhaps, they are tolerated 
as in some degree useful to the comparatively few who read 
them. If of the first-mentioned kind, it is possible to form 
some estimate as to whether the text has a message for the 
reader; while if the introduction is of the other variety, 
to the experienced gleaner, at least, it is ordinarily safe to 
conclude that the book ought not to have been written. 

While perhaps not entirely justifiable, I have felt that 
there is at least excuse for the publication of this little 
compilation—than which it professes to be nothing more. 
While reading with my boys one of John Bonner s delight¬ 
ful books for children, I was impressed as I had never 
been by more pretentious Roman histories, with the almost 
certain incident to the imperial office of a death by violent 
means. Cuiiously tracing this so-called “Imperial Disease ” 
to its origin, I finally discovered it, as it seemed to me, in 
the introduction among the Romans by the Empress Livia 
Augusta of the dreadful crime of domestic murder. And 
after descending again from Livia to Nero, and explor¬ 
ing the fate of all who bore the cognomen of Caesar by the 


[ vii ] 


PREFACE 


aid of the clue thus discovered, the conclusion became irre¬ 
sistible that the violent death which awaited so large a pro¬ 
portion of the Roman Emperors is to be accounted for not 
alone by the license of the times, but in no small degree by 
the existence of a veritable disease having its origin in the 
house of Caesar itself \ 

Although extremely anxious not to be classed among 
those who deliberately cater to the taste for all monstrous 
infractions of both divine and natural laws, I have as¬ 
sumed the risk which at first sight might not unnaturally 
attach to the narration of a series of almost uninterrupted 
crimes, confident that in the end the motive of this sketch 
will not be misjudged. And while distinctly disavowing the 
intent of pointing a moral, at once so inexcusable and dan¬ 
gerous in a mere gathering of facts, I have nevertheless 
felt that what De Quincey calls the “striking and truly 
scenical catastrophe of retribution which overtook the long 
evolution of insane atrocities perpetrated by the Caesars 
furnishes a lesson so impressive as to justify in some mea¬ 
sure at least even what may be considered a monotonous 
relation of wickedness and outrage. 

I have meant this to be an explanation. If between the 
lines an apology is found, whosoever discovers it would 
wisely apply the rule suggested in the introductory para¬ 
graph. 


[ viii ] 


PREFACE 


As these pages have not been written for the learned, I 
have not cited authorities. But my facts have been gathered 
from the usual sources ,— Tacitus, Cassius, Suetonius, 

Pliny, and Plutarch among the fathers; besides making 
use of Crevier, Merivale, Duruy, Gibbon, and the many 
writers quoted by them respectively. Everything stated as 
fact has been founded upon the best obtainable authority, 
which after careful comparison has seemed to me under all 
the circumstances sufficient; and where a particular inci¬ 
dent appears to be in doubt, I have frankly so stated. 

The valuable and interesting “ Tragedy of the Caesars ” 
by S. Baring-Gould was not brought to my attention until 
the first eleven chapters of this volume were completed. The 
authors conclusions are in many respects so diametrically 
opposed to my own and to what has hitherto been so almost 
universally accepted as unquestionable fact, that both in a 
spirit of fairness and with an anocious regard for historic 
truth, whatever idols must be destroyed, or new altars 
erected, before completing my work the entire subject was 
carefully reconsidered in the light of Mr. Baring-Gould's 
argument. It need only be said that I have found no rea¬ 
son to recast any of my conclusions—many of which, on the 
contrary, have been actually strengthened after remaining 
unconvinced by what must be considered the strongest pos¬ 
sible presentation of the other side. My twelfth chapter was 


[ ix ] 


PREFACE 


accordingly framed upon the lines originally drawn; in 
the final note to which chapter will be found a brief refer¬ 
ence to Mr. Baring-Gould’s estimate of Livia, Tiberius , 
Octavia Minor , and the two Agrippinas. 

I am sure that every one—even including the publishers 
—will grant me a few lines in closing , gratefully to ac¬ 
knowledge my dear mothers kindness in procuring many 
of the photographs from which the accompanying illustra¬ 
tions have been made. Without the assistance which her fa¬ 
miliarity with the subject and close acquaintance with the 
museums consequent upon a long residence in Italy enabled 
her to render in the selection of those busts and statues of 
which photographs would be desirable , the most interesting 
and attractive features of this book would have been want¬ 
ing. And among the imperishable memories which lighten 
the soberer vistas of the past , are those of the happy days 
when , in supplementing her earlier work , together we sal¬ 
lied forth in the Eternal City: and by pleading , cajolery , 
and insistence—with here and there , it must be confessed , 
a somewhat lavish use of lire —secured the necessary “per- 
messo ” for our lively little photographic “ Tito ” to make a 
negative of some rare bust which presumably had never 
before faced the camera. “Instant dismissal would be mine , 
Signore Americano , if it came to his Holiness’s ears that 
this had been permittedsaid the smiling official as he slyly 


PREFACE 

pocketed the gold piece (a rara avis indeed in that land 
of dirty paper) which was the price of the coveted photo¬ 
graph of Agrippina Major secured from the Chiaramonti 
in Holy Lent itself! 

S. V. s. 


November , 1901 





TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PART I 

THE FIRST STAGE OF EMPIRE 
THE BEGINNING OF SPLENDOR 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Julius Caesar 3 

II. Caesar Augustus, the First Emperor 20 

III. The Family of Augustus 30 

IV. Tiberius Caesar, the Second Emperor 46 

V. The Family of Tiberius 55 

VI. Caligula, the Third Emperor 74 

VII. The Family of Caligula 82 

VIII. Claudius Caesar, the Fourth Emperor 95 

IX. The Family of Claudius 104 

X. Nero, the Fifth Emperor 125 

XI. The Family of Nero 137 

XII. Results and Causes 168 

Appendix: Tables of the Victims, and of 
Imperial Deaths and Marriages 195 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PART II 

THE SECOND STAGE OF EMPIRE 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Completion of Splendor 207 

THE THIRD STAGE OF EMPIRE 
II. Decline of Splendor 235 

THE FOURTH STAGE OF EMPIRE 
III. Revival of Splendor 293 

THE LAST STAGE OF EMPIRE 
IV. The Final Decline 344 

Index to Part I 381 

Index to Part II 393 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

IN PART I 

Palaces of the Caesars frontispiece 

Restored by Benvenuti 

Temples in the Forum Romanum facing page vii u ' 

Restored by Becchetti 

The Rostra and Arch of Septimius Severus 3 


Restored by Becchetti 


Julius Caesar 

Bust in British Museum 

6 

Julius Caesar 

Bust in Capitoline 

10 

Julius Caesar 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

12 

Augustus 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

16 

Augustus 

Bust in Vatican 

20 

Augustus 

Statue in Uffizi Palace 

24 

Livia 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

28 ' 

Julia, daughter of Augustus 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

30 

Julia, daughter of Augustus 

Bust in Vatican 

34 

Agrippa 

Bust in Capitoline 

38 ; - 


[ XV ] 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Agrippa 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Caius Caesar, son of Julia 

Bust in Vatican 

Lucius Caesar, son of Julia 

Bust in Vatican 

Postumus Agrippa, son of Julia 

Bust in Vatican 

Tiberius 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Tiberius 

Statue in Vatican 

Drusus, son of Tiberius 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Tiberius Gemellus 

Bust in Lateran 

Drusus, brother of Tiberius 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Antonia, mother of Germanicus 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Antonia, mother of Germanicus 

Bust in Vatican 

Germanicus 

Statue in Lateran 

Agrippina, wife of Germanicus 

Bust in Vatican 

Agrippina, wife of Germanicus 

Profile of Bust in Vatican 

Cinerary Urn of Agrippina 

In the Capitoline 


FACING PAGE 42 ‘' 

46 ' 
50 7 
54 

58 

62 

66 

70 7 
74 
76 
80 

82 

86 

90 

92 


[ xvi ] 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Nero, son of Germanicus facing page 96 

Head of Statue in Later an 

Drusus, son of Germanicus 100 

Bust in Capitoline 

Caligula 104 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Caligula 108 

By some claimed to be a statue of Augustus. Statue in Vatican 

Caligula 112 ^ 

Bust in Capitoline 

Claudius 114 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

Claudius 118 

Statue in Vatican 

Messalina, wife of Claudius 122 

Bust in Capitoline 

Messalina, wife of Claudius 126 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

OCTAYIA, SISTER OF AUGUSTUS 130 ^ 

Bust in Louvre 

Antony 134 

Bust in Vatican 

Cleopatra 138 

Bust in Capitoline 

Agrippina Minor 142 

Bust in Capitoline 

Agrippina Minor 146 

Bust in Capitoline 

Agrippina Minor 150 

Bust in Naples Museum 


[ xvii ] 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Agrippina Minor 

Statue at Naples 

FACING PAGE 154 

Nero 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

160 

Nero 

Bust in Vatican 

162 

Nero 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

166 

Nero 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

170 

POPP^EA 

Bust in Capitoline 

174 

POPPJEA 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

178 

Britannicus 

Bust in Uffizi Palace 

182 

Britannicus 

Statue in Lateran 

186 

Tower 

190 


From which Nero is said to have watched the burning of the city 


IN PART II 


Ruins of the Forum Romanum 

207 

From a Photograph 


Galba 

210 

Bust in Capitoline 


Otho 

214 

Bust in Capitoline 


VlTELLIUS 

216 


Bust in Capitoline 


[ xviii ] 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Vespasian 

Bust in Capitoline 

FACING PAGE 218 

Titus 

Bust in Capitoline 

222 

Domitian and Longina 

226 

Bust in Capitoline 


Nerva 

Bust in Capitoline 

230 

Trajan 

Bust in Capitoline 

232 

Hadrian 

Bust in Capitoline 

236 

Julia Sabina, wife of Hadrian 

Bust in Capitoline 

240 

Antoninus Pius 

Bust in Vatican 

242 

Faustina, wife of Antoninus Pius 

Bust in Capitoline 

246 

Marcus Aurelius 

250 

Bust in Capitoline 


Faustina, wife of Marcus Aurelius 

Bust in Capitoline 

252 

Marcus Aurelius 

Equestrian Statue in Square of the Capitol 

254 

COMMODUS 

Bust in Vatican 

256 

Crispina, wife of Commodus 

Bust in Capitoline 

260 

Pertinax 

Bust in Vatican 

264 


[ xix ] 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

DlDIUS facing page 266 

Bust in Vatican 

Septimius Severus 270 

Bust in Capitoline 

Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus 274 

Bust in Vatican 

Clodius Albinus 276 

Bust in Vatican 

Pescennius Niger 278 

Bust in Vatican 

Geta 282 

Bust in Capitoline 

Caracalla 286 

Bust in Vatican 

Macrinus 290 

Bust in Capitoline 

Elagabalus 294 

Bust in Capitoline 

Julia Mjesa, sister of Julia Domna 298 

Statue in Capitoline 

Alexander Severus 302 

Bust in Vatican 

Sarcophagus of Alexander Severus and Maalea 306 

In the Vatican 

Maximin 310 

Bust in Capitoline 

Gordian I 314 

Bust in Capitoline 

Gordian II 318 

Bust in Capitoline 


[ XX ] 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Balbinus 

Bust in Capitoline 

FACING PAGE 320 

Decius 

Bust in Capitoline 

324 

Gallus 

Bust in Capitoline 

328 

Gallienus 

Bust in Capitoline 

332 

Cornelia Salonina, wife of Gallienus 

Bust in Capitoline 

336 

Aurelian 

Bust in Vatican 

&40 

Ruins of the Forum Romanum 

From a Photograph 

344 

Probus 

Bust in Museo Nazionale, Naples 

346 

Zenobia 

Bust in Vatican 

348 

Carinus 

Bust in Capitoline 

352 

Diocletian 

Bust in Capitoline 

356 

CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS 

Bust in Capitoline 

360 

Constantine 

Bust in Lateran 

364 

Sarcophagus of Saint Helena 

In the Vatican 

368 

Julian 

Bust in Capitoline 

372 

Ruins of the Palaces of the Caesars 

From a Photograph 

376 




CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE 
ROMAN EMPERORS 


Proclaimed in the Year 

(b. c.) 

Proclaimed in the Year ( 

A. D.) 

Augustus 

24 

Septimius Severus 

193 

Proclaimed in the Year (a. d.) 

Clodius Albinus 

193 

Tiberius 

14 

Pescennius Niger 

193 

Caligula 

37 

Geta 

211 

Claudius 

41 

Caracalla 

211 

Nero 

54 

Macrinus 

217 

Galba 

69 

Elagabalus 

218 

Otho 

69 

Alexander Seyerus 

222 

Vitellius 

69 

Maximin I 

235 

Vespasian 

69 

Gordian I 

235 

Titus 

79 

Gordian II 

235 

Domitian 

81 

PUPIENUS 

238 

Nerva 

96 

Balbinus 

238 

Trajan 

98 

Gordian III 

240 

Hadrian 

117 

Philip 

244 

Titus Antoninus 

138 

Decius 

249 

Marcus Aurelius 

161 

Gallus 

251 

Commodus 

180 

^Emilian 

252 

Pertinax 

193 

Valerian 

254 

Didius 

193 

Gallienus 

260 


[ xxiii ] 


CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EMPERORS 


Proclaimed in the Year (a. d.) 

POSTUMUS ^ 

L^ELIANUS 

VlCTORINUS 

Marius 

Tetricus 

Cyriades 

Balista 

Macrianus 


Quietus from 

Odenathus 253 

Valens to 

Calpurnius Piso 268 


Saturninus 

Trebellianus 


Celsis 

^Emilianus 

Ingenuus 

Regalianus 

Aureolus 

Claudius II 268 

Quintillus 270 

Aurelian 270 

Tacitus 275 


Proclaimed in the Year (a. d.) 


Florian 275 

Probus 276 

Carus 282 

Carinus 283 

Numerian 283 

Diocletian 285 

Maximian 285 

CoNSTANTIUS I 305 

Galerius 305 

Maximin II 305 

Severus 305 

Maxentius 306 

Constantine the 
Great 306 

Licinius 307 

CoNSTANTIUS II 337 

Constantine II 337 

Constans 337 

Magnentius 350 

JULIAN 361 

Jovian 363 

Valentinian I 364 

Valens 375 


[ xxiv ] 




CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EMPERORS 


Proclaimed in the Year (a. d.) 


Gratian 378 

Maximus 383 

Valentinian II 388 

Theodosius 392 

Honorius 395 

John 423 

Valentinian III 425 


Petronius Maximus 455 


Proclaimed in the Year (a. d.) 


Avitus 455 

Majorian 457 

Severus 461 

Anthemius 467 

Olybrius 472 

Glycerius 473 

Julius Nepos 475 


Romulus Augustulus 476 



PART I 

THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 







A PART OF THE FORUM ROMANUM SHOWING THE ROSTRA AND THE ARCH OF SEPTIM- 

IUS SEVERUS [RESTORED BY PROFESSOR BECCHETTI, TEACHER IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS ROMeI 

























































THE BEGINNING OF SPLENDOR 


CHAPTER I 
JULIUS CLESAR 

O N the fifteenth of March in the year 44 b. c., Caius 
| Julius Caesar, the greatest man in ancient Rome, 
the grandest figure of sovereignty in all the an¬ 
cient world, was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate. 
It was a premeditated assassination. Dissuaded from at¬ 
tending the session by the tender entreaties of his wife 
Calpurnia, he had sent word that he would not come. But 
the conspirators despatched a trusted friend to urge his 
attendance, and overcoming his presentiments he yielded 
and went to his fate. On the way to the senate-house some 
one thrust into his hand a scroll containing the names of 
the conspirators and an account of their wicked designs. 
The fate of the Republic hung upon his opening it. He 
did not open it . 

Before the charge of the cavalry at Waterloo, Napoleon 
is said to have asked a question of the guide Lacoste— 
presumably whether there was any obstacle. The fate of 
the nineteenth century hung upon the shake of a peasant’s 
head. But, says Hugo, “Was it possible for Napoleon to 
win the battle? We answer in the negative. Why? On 
account of Wellington or Bliicher? No; on account of 
God.” Napoleon had begun to disturb the equilibrium 
of the universe; nature and God decreed that he must be 
displaced. And so when Caesar, on his way to death, re¬ 
ceived from the unknown a written disclosure of the con¬ 
spiracy against his life, but which he carelessly assumed to 
[ 3 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

be an ordinary petition, the fate of many centuries hung 
upon a thread—and the thread was not broken. But could 
the Empire have been forestalled? We answer no; God’s 
law of evolution decreed otherwise. Says Froude, “As 
Caesar had lived to reconstruct the Roman world, so his 
death was necessary to finish the work.” For in any event, 
the Republic was doomed. Caesar, as king in name, would 
have put an end to that. And as the writer last quoted 
explains so convincingly, the Empire of the Csesars was 
exactly the kingdom demanded by the new life which 
was dawning for mankind; “a kingdom where peaceful 
men could work, think, and speak as they pleased,” and 
travel freely where life and property were for the most 
part protected and fanatics prevented from tearing each 
other to pieces on account of religious opinions. 

Shall we say, then, that the slayers of Cassar were indeed 
world patriots? And that what Goethe has declared to 
have been the most senseless deed that was ever done, was 
really founded in the necessities of civilization’s progress ? 

The family of Csesar claimed to be of immortal descent, 
tracing its pedigree back to a son of iEneas, who after the 
fall of Troy had found a resting-place along the sunny 
shores of western Italy. During a funeral oration which 
he pronounced from the rostra, in praise of his aunt Julia 
(the wife of Marius), Caius Julius, who was then queestor, 
said: “My aunt Julia derived her descent by her mother 
from a race of Kings, and by her father from the Immor¬ 
tal Gods. For the Marcii Reges, her mother’s family, de¬ 
duce their pedigree from Ancus Marcius, and the Julii, 
her father’s, from Venus; of which stock we are a branch. 
We therefore unite in our descent the sacred majesty of 
Kings, the chiefest among men, and the divine majesty 
of Gods, to whom Kings themselves are subject.” 

[ 4 ] 


JULIUS CAESAR 

iEneas was the son of Anchises and Venus, and it was 
from his son Ascanius, otherwise called lulus, or Julies , 
that the Gens Julia, of which the Caesars were a branch, 
was descended. Ancus Marcius was the fourth King of 
Rome, and according to the old legends he befriended the 
people against the nobles, for which reason his name was 
held in especial reverence. 

The etymology of the name Caesar is unsettled. It has 
been variously derived from the color of the eyes prevail¬ 
ing in the family (dark gray and piercing, like an eagle’s); 
from an exploit during an African hunt, there being a 
Moorish word Ccesar meaning elephant, and from the fact 
that the first celebrated member of the family came into 
the world by the aid of the surgeon’s knife. But whatever 
the original meaning of the word, from the hour when 
Cassius’s dagger put an end to the life work of the great 
Caesar, the name has remained among mankind as the 
title of sovereignty—august, indeed, as the first Emperor 
so pompously elected to be called. 

Froude says that the pedigree of the great Ceesar goes 
no further than his grandfather Caius Julius, who about the 
middle of the second century before Christ married Marcia, 
descended from one of the early kings as above stated. 
Their three children were Caius Julius, Sextus Julius, and 
Julia. The daughter married Caius Marius, afterwards the 
boast of democracy, and whose name remains a syno¬ 
nym for hardy, incorruptible Roman virtue. Their son, the 
younger Marius, who after the death of his father shared 
with Cinna the chief power of Rome, was in his youth one 
of the most intimate friends of his cousin, Caius Julius, 
the future dictator. 

The elder son of Caius Julius and Marcia married Au¬ 
relia, allied to the great consular family of Cotta. Of this 
[ 5 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CdESAR 


union was bom, in the year 100 b. c. (or 102 b. c., as 
fixed by Mommsen and perhaps more generally accepted 
by scholars), on the twelfth day of the month which there¬ 
after took its name from him, Julius Ccesar , afterwards 
known to all the world as Caesar the Great. From the Ro¬ 
man people he ultimately received the appellation Julius 
Ccesar Divus —the Divine. It was from the same motive 
that an apotheosis had been conferred upon Romulus, 
namely, to obviate the people’s suspicion that he was 
murdered by a conspiracy of the patrician order. 

According to Pliny, his father, who had been praetor, 
died suddenly at Pisa, in the year 670 a. u. c. (about 
84 b. c.). Caesar was then a youth of sixteen or eighteen. 
Although little is known of his mother Aurelia, she was 
plainly a woman of character. Plutarch says that she had 
great discretion, and it is certain that between mother and 
son a passionate attachment always existed. On the morn¬ 
ing of the election when Caesar was candidate for the office 
of Pontifex Maximus, which was really the beginning of 
his great career, his mother attended him to the door with 
tears in her eyes, while he said as she embraced him, “My 
dear mother, you will see me this day chief pontiff, or I 
shall never return.” It seems to have been her life task to 
watch over his best interests, and she lived to share in the 
triumph of his great exploits in Gaul. She died in the year 
54 b. c. 

While a mere boy Caesar had been betrothed to Cossutia, 
a member of a very wealthy family, but only of the eques¬ 
trian order. His views, however, were more ambitious and 
after his father’s death he repudiated the engagement and 
married Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, who had been four 
times consul. At the time of this marriage he seems to 
have been nineteen years old. There is no more striking 
[ 6 ] 



JULIUS CAESAR 
















JULIUS CESAR 


evidence of his character than his spirited refusal to di¬ 
vorce Cornelia, at the command of the terrible Sylla. His 
friend, the great Pompey, had yielded to a similar com¬ 
mand and given up his wife to marry the tyrant’s step¬ 
daughter iEmilia, who was compelled to put away her 
own husband for that purpose. But with Caesar, coaxing, 
blandishments, and threats were alike useless. The love of 
his wife and child and the maintenance of his indepen¬ 
dence and self-respect were more to him than life. Sylla 
stripped him of his sacerdotal office, confiscated his patri¬ 
monial estates and his wife’s dowry, and actually set a 
price upon his head. Suetonius says that his life was finally 
spared through the intercession of powerful friends and 
that in granting their request Sylla declared: “This man 
for whose safety you are so extremely anxious will some 
day or other be the ruin of the party of nobles in defence 
of which you are leagued with me; for in this one Caesar 
you will find many a Marius.” It was a prophetic utter¬ 
ance. 

One daughter, Julia, was born of this marriage. Juba is 
said to have been gifted with every charm, and at the age 
of twenty-two she cemented the friendship of her father 
and the great Pompey by marrying the latter. She won 
her husband’s passionate affection, and her early death in 
the year 54 b. c. was bitterly and universally lamented. A 
child which she had borne to Pompey had previously 
died. 

After the death of Cornelia, Caesar married Pompeia, 
daughter of Quintus Pompeius and granddaughter of Lu¬ 
cius Sylla. He afterwards divorced her upon suspicion of 
her unfaithfulness; although there was no evidence other 
than the attempt of a young quaestor named Clodius to 
enter Caesar’s house in disguise during the celebration of 

[ 7 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

a religious festival. But “ Caesar’s wife ought not to be 
even so much as suspected,” he is reported to have said, 
although the saying is perhaps, like so many others, 
apocryphal. 

Csesar’s third wife was Calpurnia, the daughter of Lucius 
Piso, who succeeded Csesar as consul. Calpurnia survived 
him. No children were born of this or of Caesar’s second 
marriage. Csesario, his reputed child by Cleopatra, was put 
to death by Augustus, after the final defeat of Antony. 1 

Csesar was assassinated in the year 44 b. c. At the time 
of his death he had held every office of importance in the 
Roman State and was an absolute monarch in everything 
but the title. In the name of Democracy and under cover 
of the Marian principles he had overthrown the Republic 
and reduced the Senate to a mere machine for register¬ 
ing his decrees. Whether he really expected or even de¬ 
sired to become king eo nomine may be questioned. But he 
prepared the way for Empire, and he alone. He was the 
founder of the house of Csesar; and without the house of 
Csesar there would have been no Roman Empire. By the 
fiction of adoption, the glory of the great Csesar passed on 
to the young Augustus and in itself played no unimpor¬ 
tant part in building up the imperialistic idea. 

Twenty years after the daggers of Cassius and Brutus 
had left the world without a master, Augustus succeeded in 
erecting the framework of an Empire upon the foundation 
which his great kinsman had built so enduringly. In ex- 

1 Cleopatra, in anticipation of Antony’s defeat, had sent Caesario with a 
large sum of money through Ethiopia into India. Plutarch says that the 
young man’s tutor urged him to turn back, falsely persuading him that 
Augustus would make him King of Egypt. While the Emperor was de¬ 
liberating how to dispose of him some one observed that there ought 
not by any means to be too many Caesars; whereupon Caesario was put to 
death. 

[ 8 ] 


JULIUS CAESAR 

tent, in wealth, in variety, and in everything that makes 
up earthly power and dignity it became the most magnifi¬ 
cent governmental creation that ever had existed. Perhaps 
no man but Alexander, and possibly Napoleon, has ever 
dreamed of a greater. During the first two centuries it 
waxed and maintained its supremacy; during the three 
following it waned, and finally in the year 476 a. d., five 
hundred and twenty years after its great founder perished, 
it melted away into barbarous oblivion. 

During the five hundred years which elapsed between 
what may be called the actual establishment of the Em¬ 
pire by Augustus (about 24 b. c.) and the termination 
of the Empire by the deposition of Romulus Augustus, 
476 a. d., we may count exactly one hundred emperors. 
Not all of them indeed are classed as such by the his¬ 
torians. For some, while claiming the office and title for 
themselves, or having the claim made for them by certain 
provinces, or factions of the State or army, did not main¬ 
tain themselves sufficiently long to acquire a permanent 
place in the imperial roll. So that of the one hundred so- 
called emperors, perhaps twenty or twenty-five may be con¬ 
sidered as spurious. But for the practical purposes of life 
and death it made no difference whether the claim to the 
title were genuine or false. The most shadowy as well as 
the best-established claim was alike sufficient to expose 
its possessor to the 4 ‘Imperial disease”; and of these one 
hundred so-called emperors of the mightiest and most 
wonderful of human governments, only nineteen are known 
to have died a natural death. Of the remaining eighty-one, 
seven were killed in battle, three committed suicide, sixty- 
four were murdered, while the cause of death of seven is 
unknown. That is to say, during the five centuries of the 
Roman Empire’s existence, the average reign of its rulers 

[ 9 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

was jive years; while four out of five of those rulers came 
to a violent end. 

The sickening story began with the death of the great 
Julius. Scarcely one of the murderers, and as well those 
who participated in it, died from natural causes. All were 
condemned by the Senate; some were drowned and others 
killed in battle, while Brutus and Cassius destroyed them¬ 
selves with the same poniards with which they had killed 
Caesar. It might be said that Caesar’s blood was well 
avenged; but this proved to be only the baptismal sprin¬ 
kling of a long regime of the most horrible family and 
State murders contained in the annals of a civilized society. 
While it is not a pleasant page to scan, there is many a 
lesson to be read between the lines, not the least impor¬ 
tant of which is the undoubted fact that from the horrible 
practice of domestic murder which was introduced among 
the Romans by the Csesars, sprang no inconsiderable por¬ 
tion of that spirit of lawlessness, soon acquired by the 
people after example set by the nobles, which was one of 
the chief causes of the ruin of Rome. So that it may not 
be unprofitable to briefly trace the rise of what may well 
be termed the “Imperial disease” and then notice still 
more briefly its fatal effects upon the long list of Roman 
Emperors. 

Apart from numerous coins, a few gems, and the various 
busts of which the greater number are of doubtful value, 
the author of the “Lives” remains our only source of in¬ 
formation as to the personal appearance of the early 
Csesars. But however untrustworthy Suetonius may be in 
other respects, it is probable that his personal descriptions 
are in the main reliable; founded, as they undoubtedly 
were, upon both popular tradition and the unquestionably 
genuine busts and statues which must have been extant 

[ 10 ] 



JULIUS CAESAR 








JULIUS CJESAR 

at the time he wrote. And while evidence of this sort 
must necessarily be open to question, it is convincing 
enough to at least gratify that invariable curiosity as to 
the personal appearance and characteristics of the great 
figures in history. Too often the result is disappointing; 
but in the case of Caesar the commonly accepted picture 
is that of a man whose bodily presence and personal attri¬ 
butes are entirely proportioned to the greatness of his in¬ 
tellect, the intensity of his moral force, and the splendor 
of his fame. 

Measured by the Italian standard of height, which is 
supposed to have been then, as it still is, lower than that of 
the more hardy and vigorous northern races, the founder 
of the house of Caesar was tall and of athletic propor¬ 
tions. With well-made limbs, strongly knit frame, and an 
iron constitution, he was capable of unremitting activity 
and of enduring the greatest fatigue and hardships. His 
complexion is said to have been fair, his eyes dark and 
piercing, his lips thin and firmly pressed together, his face 
rather full and strongly marked by the prominent nose 
which is so rarely absent in the portraits of really great 
men. His large and well-formed head, its dome accentu¬ 
ated by the prominent temples and the absence of hair 
from the sharply rising forehead, was set upon a firm and 
sinewy neck, the latter in itself so significant of constitu¬ 
tional vigor. The contour of the well-known bust in the 
British Museum is almost flawless; and combined with 
the keen look, not wanting, however, in its expression of 
massive gravity, and the strong lines which mark so plainly 
a powerful self-poise and an unconquerable will, satisfies 
our conception of one of the greatest of men, whether or 
not the marble be genuine. 

His personal habits—with one exception—are univer- 

[ n ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 


sally conceded to have been of that sort which indicates 
a high measure of refinement, self-respect, and apprecia¬ 
tion of the dignity of human nature. Scrupulously clean 
and neat, and all through life particularly attentive to his 
personal appearance, abstemious at table—rarely or never 
touching wine—with temper always under absolute con¬ 
trol and exhibiting an unfailing patience and courtesy, he 
considered sobriety, both bodily and mental, not only 
among the highest qualities, but as a veritable duty of 
citizenship. He excelled in all manly exercises, being noted 
especially, however, for his horsemanship and his skill 
with the sword. 

The charge of immorality under which the first Caesar 
suffers equally with his five successors, although fiercely 
disputed, has never been disproved. Even Froude, who 
contends most strenuously against the severe accusations 
of certain early writers, concedes it to be in the highest de¬ 
gree improbable that Caesar’s morality was superior to that 
of the average of his contemporaries. Beyond this point, 
however, a sober weighing of the facts does not compel us 
to go. Froude’s arguments are entirely convincing that the 
accusations of Cicero, Catullus, and Licinius, grossly re¬ 
peated by Suetonius (who is said by some one to have dis¬ 
played in his writings all the delight in a coarse sensuality 
which those of whom he wrote manifested in their lives), 
must have been slanders. And unless forced to do so, by 
unquestioned historic truth, we are not inclined to enlarge, 
beyond its well-defined limits, this one notable weakness 
of “the foremost man of all this world .” 1 

While not entirely free from the superstition of his times, 
Caesar was too genuinely great to be in any degree moved 
by it. The omens were never so unpromising as to deter 

1 Julius Ccesar, Act iv. Sc. 3. 


[ 12 ] 



JULIUS CiLSAR 












JULIUS CAESAR 

him from a projected enterprise. Happening to stumble 
while stepping ashore in the African expedition, it is said 
that instead of yielding to what was considered a dark 
omen he gave a lucky turn to it by exclaiming, “I hold 
thee fast, Africa!” Whether founded upon fact, or only 
traditional, the story is finely illustrative both of his tena¬ 
city of purpose and that abiding confidence in himself and 
his high destiny, which is one of the first attributes of an 
elevated soul. These characteristics, united with the most 
conspicuous courage and daring, and a talent for war which 
has never been equalled and will probably never be sur¬ 
passed, rendered him well-nigh invulnerable in those mem¬ 
orable campaigns which advanced the glory of the Roman 
arms to a position undreamed of by the most ardent lover 
of the Republic. 

His career furnishes perhaps the only example of a great 
military leader who never failed to achieve success when 
himself in command. And even in the three or four in¬ 
stances where his lieutenants met defeat, his genius was 
sufficient to retrieve the disaster, which in the end was 
converted into an overwhelming victory. 

Csesar possessed all the innate kindliness, courtesy, lack 
of resentment, and magnanimity which under the circum¬ 
stances of his position none but a supremely great man 
could have displayed in the Roman world of that day. The 
story of his clemency and generosity after the civil war is 
like a refreshing breeze out of the tropics, after reading 
similar pages of contemporaneous history. With less dig¬ 
nity of character and a smaller measure of that calm con¬ 
fidence in the genius of his fortunes and the stability of 
his relation to events, his remarkable display of modera¬ 
tion towards the vanquished party would never have oc¬ 
curred, and his senseless murder would not have awakened 
[ 13 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

that universal compassion for the noble victim and abhor¬ 
rent pity for the misguided assassins . 1 

It was only by accident that Caesar assumed the profes¬ 
sion of arms. He commenced life as a lawyer, and at an 
early age displayed powers of oratory which compelled 
Cicero himself to confess that there was a force and preg¬ 
nancy in his speech and a dignity in his manner which were 
beyond the attainment of any other Roman orator. High 
praise from a man who was at once past master in the art, 
and at the same time fundamentally opposed in political 
principles to the ardent young Marian; and it was extended 
with even greater emphasis to the literary talents displayed 
in the immortal “Commentaries,” the excellence of which 
both as a military and historical narrative has never been 
approached. Fools might think to improve on the history 
of the Gallic war, Cicero remarks, but no wise man would 
attempt it. 

In fact, this man succeeded in everything he tried—and 
tried so many great things that mankind has ever since 
been amazed at the marvellous display of energy, ability, 
and accomplishment which the life of Julius Cassar affords. 
Orator, man of letters, military leader, statesman, astron¬ 
omer, originator of a new and striking type of political 
organism—it may almost be said that in every undertak¬ 
ing he surpassed those who were remarkable for ability in 
only one of the many arts which he practised so admirably 
and with such apparent readiness. And as in addition to 
his transcendent gifts and manifest superiority at every 
point in the world of action he showed himself to be a man 

1 In the plays acted at Caesar’s funeral, the following passage from a 
tragedy of Pacuvius was sung: 

<( That ever 7, unhappy man , should save 
Wretches who thus have brought me to the grave” 

[ 14 ] 


JULIUS CAESAR 

of feeling and tenderness,—capable of loving and being 
loved,—he has come to us out of the misty past, the colos¬ 
sal figure of a great-hearted genius, whose equal as a ruler 
and superior as a man of affairs has never been seen. 
We are confirmed in the truth of this conclusion by our 
own greatest genius in that presentation of him where, as 
a late writer has remarked, “it is not the bodily presence 
of the hero that is the protagonist of the play but the 
spirit of Caesar that lives after him. Brutus and Cassius 
and Antony are the human characters in the drama, each 
with his strong and weak points; but over them all tow¬ 
ers the spirit of the slain Caesar, destined for centuries to 
claim immortality and worship, while their weak and dis¬ 
united efforts to control the destinies of the world become 
no more than material for the biographer and poet .” 1 And 
while science may not presume to fix the measure or limits 
of the productive power of Nature, it is perhaps not un¬ 
reasonable to expect that all present history must be ob¬ 
literated and a new record have been commenced and a 
new standard of mind and spirit growth established before 
another, or at least a greater than Shakspere or Caesar 
shall be born. 

It is not presumed that this estimate of Caesar’s claim 
to preeminent greatness is universal, nor that his personal 
character is even generally conceded to have been so ele¬ 
vated. Besides the charge of gross immorality already 
noticed, various other accusations have been more or less 
hotly pressed against him. It is a fact that the debts con¬ 
tracted by him in early life were enormous; before he came 
into office, according to Plutarch, amounting to nearly 
six hundred thousand pounds of English money, and upon 
his departure for Spain, if we may believe Appian, further 

1 Heroes of the Nations: Julius Ccesar. 

[ 15 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

increased to about one million sterling. It is also true that 
this immense indebtedness was discharged by moneys col¬ 
lected by the conqueror during the Spanish war. And his¬ 
torians have not scrupled to affirm that his campaigns 
were prosecuted and even the civil war begun with the 
sole view of meeting his vast pecuniary embarrassments. 
But as De Quincey has pointed out, rather than being 
the original ground of his quest for power and revolution¬ 
ary projects, Caesar’s debts were the product of his ambi¬ 
tion and contracted merely in the service of his political 
intrigues to establish a powerful support in the State for 
his party and himself. He paid them to the last denarius — 
that important fact is rarely mentioned by the critics; and 
that the spoils of war supplied the means of so doing is 
simply one of the invariably bitter incidents of conquest 
either in barbaric or so-called Christian warfare. 

As regards his moral character, a more serious question 
is presented from the standpoint of Christianity and mod¬ 
ern ethics in the fact of the great human misery entailed by 
his campaigns and the civil wars which finally established 
his supremacy. The destruction of over a million souls, 
and the enforced slavery of additional thousands, will al¬ 
ways be considered by many minds an unanswerable accu¬ 
sation. And whatever arguments in the line of necessity, 
human progress, and survival—laws superior to Caesar, 
and of which he was but the instrument—may be urged 
against this enormous destruction of human life, the sale 
into slavery of prisoners taken in battle constitutes an un¬ 
doubted stain upon Caesar’s moral character, and one which 
modern ideas can never tolerate. Froude declares that the 
blot was not personally upon Caesar, but upon the age in 
which he lived, urging that “the great Pomponius Atticus 
was himself a dealer in human chattels.” But it is Caesar, 
[ 16 ] 



AUGUSTUS 









JULIUS CAESAR 

not Atticus, who is at the bar; and while victors and van¬ 
quished alike accepted it as a law of the times that pris¬ 
oners of war should be sold into slavery, the great Dic¬ 
tator was in most ways so preeminently superior to the 
character of the age in which he lived, his hatred of injus¬ 
tice was so frequently and passionately manifested, and the 
generosity and mercy which he ordinarily displayed were 
of a degree which, in the eyes of the Roman world at 
least, implied such unusual magnanimity , 1 that it is diffi¬ 
cult to understand why he himself should not have appre¬ 
ciated the gravity of the offence, for which, therefore, it 
must be admitted there was the less excuse. 

As a final answer to Ceesar s claim for our regard and 
admiration, his enemies and detractors have urged his love 
of power. Even those who admit his vast superiority and 
general moral excellence are frightened by this bugaboo 
of “lust for power.” “If he had but refused the dicta¬ 
torship,” says one, “he would have been worthy to stand 
by the side of Washington, above the splendid army of 
heroes who have ennobled the world.” “If he had not in¬ 
dulged so unseasonably and greedily in the honors which 
were heaped upon him,” says another, “he would be en¬ 
titled to more of our sympathy in his untimely end.” The 
refusal of Washington to accept that which he had led 
the fight to escape, entitles and will preserve to him the 
undying respect and admiration of all friends of liberty 
who love a high demeanor as well as courage and success. 

1 The popular estimate of Caesar was strikingly displayed in the immense 
and unquestionably spontaneous demonstration of sorrow at his funeral. 
Never before, we are told, had such a multitude assembled for a similar 
purpose, including a great number of foreigners, especially Jews, who for 
several nights frequented the spot where the body was burnt. The pages 
of Josephus contain repeated testimony of the benefits conferred on his 
countrymen by the first Caesar. Antiq. xiv. 14, 15, 16 . 

[ 17 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Between his case and that of Caesar, however, no just com¬ 
parison in this respect can be drawn. Here in America 
was a young and hopeful republic, grounded on morality, 
patriotism, and intelligence, and supported by the growing 
self-confidence and self-respect which had been born of a 
successful resistance of injustice and tyranny. Whereas 
the entire Roman history of the years immediately pre¬ 
ceding Csesar is one chronicle of corruption, violence, self¬ 
ishness, and misery, broken only by the patriotic integrity 
of the Gracchi and the stern but ill-balanced virtue of 
Marius; with patriotism, for the most part, at a low ebb, 
morals degenerated, and, at the end, general disintegration 
threatening the worn-out Republic. To the commanding 
views and penetrating genius of the great man who came 
into the world at a special time and for a special object, it 
was evident that only by the strong hand of a sovereign 
could peace and security be restored. Under such circum¬ 
stances it was not a crime but a duty for him to assume 
the place which nature and events had created for him. 
Failure to have made the fight, or to have stood aside 
when the goal was won and refuse the opportunity to 
exert his marvellous powers and carry out his cherished 
projects, would have been to give his own genius the lie. 
As society is constituted it is essentially natural and just 
for great men of action to seek power; for usually in no 
other way than through its exercise can their peculiar 
quality of mind and character display itself. Lincoln bind¬ 
ing together the greatest political institution of modern 
times with a great moral principle, Napoleon sowing the 
seeds of liberty in Europe, Cromwell bending the divine 
right of kings to the divine right of the people, Csesar for 
the first time bringing scientific intelligence to bear upon 
the problems of government and establishing the judg- 
[ 18 ] 


JULIUS CiESAR 

ment seat which gave Christianity an appeal to Rome and 
preserved it from being stifled at birth by its foes—all are 
God’s instruments. The measure of absolutism which each 
assumed was proportioned to the necessities of his case 
and the circumstances of the times. Far from denouncing 
Caesar for making himself a king, posterity would have 
better claim of right to denounce him if with all his con¬ 
scious power and ability to rule and do for the world, he 
had refused to bear the burden, as he actually did refuse 
the Lupercalian crown which the mad Antony thrice of¬ 
fered him. And it is fortunately true for civilization’s prog¬ 
ress that, as observed by Walpole, Caesar and Cromwell 
are not answerable to a commission of oyer and terminer. 


[ 19 ] 


CHAPTER II 

CAESAR AUGUSTUS, THE FIRST EMPEROR 
From 24 B. C. to 14 A. D. 


^TER the death of Caesars daughter Julia, whose 



1 JL only child had previously died, he adopted as his son 
and afterwards by will named as his chief heir his grand¬ 
nephew Caius Octavius, who thereupon assumed the name 
of Caius Caesar. Octavius received three-fourths of his 
great-uncle’s estate, while his cousins Lucius Pinarius and 
Quintus Pedius had the remaining one-fourth. Although 
but seventeen years of age at the time of Caesar’s death, 
he had already given evidence of so much shrewdness, 
energy, and ability as to endear himself to his great rela¬ 
tive, who never failed to appreciate such indications of 
character. 

Caius Octavius, or Caius Caesar; Caesar Augustus, or 
Augustus, as he was finally called, was born in the year 
61 B.C., upon the ninth of the Calends of October (Sep¬ 
tember twenty-third). His father, Caius Octavius, was of 
an old patrician family of the first distinction. The Octavii, 
however, had divided into two branches, of which one re¬ 
mained patrician, its members holding uninterruptedly the 
highest offices in the State, while the other, from which 
Augustus was descended, was of the equestrian order and 
so remained until the father of Augustus became praetor. 
He died as he was on the point of declaring his candidacy 
for the consulship. 

Caius Octavius was twice married; his first wife being 
Ancharia, by whom he had a daughter, the elder Octavia, 
who, according to Plutarch, afterwards became the wife 


[ 20 ] 



\ 


AUGUSTUS 


i 















CAESAR AUGUSTUS 

of Mark Antony. But it seems evident that this was an 
error on the part of the great biographer and that the wife 
of Antony was the younger Octavia, the own sister of 
Augustus, and daughter of Caius Octavius by his second 
wife Atia, who was the daughter of Marcus Atius Balbus 
and Julia, sister of the great Cassar. Balbus on his mother’s 
side was nearly related to Pompey the Great, while his 
father was of a distinguished family, many of whom had 
been senators. Augustus’s claims of a lofty descent, how¬ 
ever, were treated with contempt by many of his high¬ 
born contemporaries, including his sister’s husband, Mark 
Antony. 

However this may be, he was a Ccesar , and the qualities 
which had attracted his uncle’s attention enabled him to 
make good his inheritance from the outset and finally 
to grasp securely the highest measure of power which had 
ever been maintained in the Roman world. 

The foundation was laid in wickedness almost beyond 
conception. Although Augustus, through his uncle’s adop¬ 
tion, became his natural successor, there were two rival 
claimants in the persons of Mark Antony and Lepidus, 
Caesar’s master of the horse, each of whom had a power¬ 
ful army behind him. The crafty Augustus, foreseeing that 
time alone was all that he needed to secure the prize, pro¬ 
posed that the three should make a league and rule Rome 
together. In so doing he may have urged as a precedent 
the compact between his great-uncle, Cneius Pompey, and 
Crassus, which was the outcome of the celebrated confer¬ 
ence at Lucca, whereby Cicero’s attack upon the trium¬ 
virate was foiled, and Cassar, Crassus, and Pompey were 
granted a new term of five years’ government in Gaul, 
Spain, and Syria, respectively. But in that case the power 
was secured constitutionally,—that is, by bills brought be- 
[ 21 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

fore the Senate and the people,—the approval of Cicero 
himself being finally obtained. In the present instance 
Senate and people were not consulted, everything being 
settled by the principals alone. After a three days’ confer¬ 
ence upon a small island in the river Rhine, not far from 
Bologna, the treaty was made and the Empire of the 
world divided between them, based upon this fundamental 
condition: that Cicero should be killed to please Antony, 
whose uncle, Lucius Caesar, should be given up to satisfy 
Augustus, while Lepidus was to have the privilege of put¬ 
ting to death his own brother Paulus. In addition a list 
was then and there prepared, each adding a name in turn 
until twenty-three hundred (three hundred senators and 
two thousand knights) of the best names in Rome were 
written down for slaughter. In the establishment of the 
First Triumvirate there had been no proscribed list. But it 
was necessary to seal the present compact with something, 
and blood seemed to be a very good substitute for the vote 
of the people. Commenting upon this hideous compact, 
which was scrupulously carried out (Lucius Caesar alone 
escaping, through a ruse of his sister, the mother of An¬ 
tony), Plutarch says: “ I believe there was never anything 
so atrocious or so execrably savage as this commerce of mur¬ 
der ; for while a friend was given up for an enemy received, 
the same action murdered at once the friend and the enemy; 
and the destruction of the former was still more horrible 
because it had not even resentments for its apology.” 

But the minds of the triumvirs were apparently little 
disturbed by such reflections. It was absolute power of 
which they were in quest, and when that terrible lust for 
power seized upon the average Roman of twenty centuries 
ago, not only conscience, but the entire moral sense as well, 
seems to have been swept away as by an uncontrollable 
[ 22 ] 


CiESAR AUGUSTUS 

passion. The Three Men, as they called themselves,—or 
the Three Brutes, as a modern writer has termed them,— 
calmly set about their agreed task of killing the proscribed 
persons, after which Augustus and Antony united in hunt¬ 
ing down the murderers of Caesar, one of the few righteous 
things which they accomplished. 

A little later it seemed necessary to enlarge the trium¬ 
virate by taking in the son of Pompey, who had proved a 
troublesome factor in the problem. Augustus was still bid¬ 
ing his time, and all Rome seemed well content under 
the oligarchy of Augustus, Antony, Lepidus, and Sextus 
Pompey. Nothing was further from men’s thoughts than 
a Roman Empire. But the grandnephew and heir of the 
man who had overturned the Senate and pulled down the 
Republic was not the one to accept a paltry one-quarter 
of the State as his inheritance. And when the hour arrived 
he stretched out his hand and took it all. Pompey was 
driven from his allotted domains and put to death. Lepidus 
next was overcome, and as he was too stupid to be feared, 
instead of being killed he was made high priest of Rome 
—which suited him better. Finally Antony was pushed to 
the wall and with Cleopatra committed suicide . 1 And with 
no obstacle remaining in his path, Caius Octavius, Caesar 

1 Antony had five wives: Favia, Antonia, Fulvia, Octavia, and Cleopatra. 
He left seven children: Antyllus and Antony by Fulvia; Cleopatra, 
Ptolemy, and Alexander by Cleopatra; and the two Antonias by Octavia. 
Antyllus alone suffered death after his father’s overthrow. The rest of 
the children were taken by Octavia and educated as her own. Cleopatra 
was married to Juba, Antony married Octavia’s daughter Marcella after 
the latter’s divorce from Agrippa, and was afterwards put to death by 
Augustus for an intrigue with the latter’s granddaughter Julia. Ptolemy 
suffered death at the hands of Caligula, while the two Antonias married, 
respectively, Drusus Germanicus, and Domitius Ahenobarbus, the grand¬ 
father of Nero. 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

by adoption, became Caesar in fact and Roman republican¬ 
ism and Roman democracy had passed away forever. The 
last of the triumvirs became consul, tribune, censor, praetor, 
and high priest (Lepidus having died) all at once, and hav¬ 
ing safeguarded his now absolute power by establishing a 
praetorian guard, which was the final ruin of free Rome, 
received from the people a proposition that he be made 
dictator for life. Declining this, he was offered the name 
of Romulus, which he also refused, selecting instead that 
of Augustus , an epithet which was ordinarily applied to 
places set apart for religious purposes and containing any¬ 
thing consecrated by augury, and which was assumed by 
the new sovereign as signifying that a more than human 
sacredness and majesty existed in his person. 

And thus, in about the year 24 b. c., the spirit of free¬ 
dom in Rome was finally quenched and the Empire es¬ 
tablished, with Augustus its first Emperor. The Roman 
people were worn out with the murder, rapine, and wars 
of the past few generations. They yielded to their fate. 
The imperialistic idea became firmly rooted. The house of 
Caesar was apparently founded on a rock. But, as we have 
seen, not only its opportunity came in through a shame¬ 
less act of murder, but its subsequent establishment was 
also based upon an appalling homicide. It remained for a 
woman to introduce a more hideous phase of the same 
crime, as the direct consequence of which the great house 
of Caesar was absolutely blotted out and a long line of 
succeeding emperors likewise disappeared through a series 
of crimes so awful and abominations so dreadful as almost 
to justify the thought that Rome had been abandoned by 
God. 

The first Emperor is commonly supposed to have been 
handsome and graceful in person, although it is some- 
[ 24 ] 



AUGUSTUS 













CLESAR AUGUSTUS 

times stated that he was lame; the assertion perhaps being 
founded on a remark of Suetonius that Augustus had a 
weakness in his left hip and thigh. His eyes were bright 
and piercing, and it is said that few persons could long 
sustain his steady gaze; which the gratified Emperor was 
pleased to consider an attribute of divinity. He had a finely 
shaped, well-poised head, covered with fair, curling hair; 
his features were regular, with aquiline nose and small 
ears, while the prevailing expression of his countenance 
was calm and serene. But he was of a weak constitution, 
and subject to frequent attacks of severe illness; so that it 
was only by excessive precautions that he maintained a 
state of health sufficient to enable the constant attention 
which he ambitiously devoted to his imperial office. 

He conducted in person only two foreign wars; and al¬ 
though for the energy displayed in one of the campaigns 
of his great relative he gained the latter’s approbation, in 
the main he was utterly destitute of military talents, and 
wisely left to his lieutenants the conduct of his wars. At 
the close of the civil strife, in which, as his personal for¬ 
tunes were at stake, he necessarily participated, he finally 
abandoned riding and exercises at arms, and from that 
time, in deference to his delicate health, walking and rid¬ 
ing in his litter constituted his only exercise. 

Notwithstanding the glamour which has enveloped his 
personal history and character, by reason both of the bril¬ 
liancy of his era and the undoubted moderation, temper¬ 
ance, and wisdom which he displayed during the last forty 
years of his life, it is undeniable that Augustus was by 
nature selfish, cowardly, and cruel, if not actually vicious. 
The period from the signing of the infamous Bologna com¬ 
pact to the destruction of the unfortunate Antony and his 
beautiful Egyptian consort, abounds in instances of the 
[ 25 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Emperor’s deliberate cruelty, repeated treachery, and the 
sacrifice of every consideration of duty and conscience, 
and even of those feelings of love and friendship which are 
ordinarily recognized by the most hardened criminals, in 
order to accomplish, however basely, the desires of his ut¬ 
terly selfish ambition. And it is equally positive that dur¬ 
ing this period of his life, at least, the first Emperor shared 
freely in those sensual vices the universality of which 
among the Roman people is incontestably proven both 
by contemporary authors and the paintings and embellish¬ 
ments discovered at Herculaneum. 

Deeply tinged with superstition, the Emperor had a pro¬ 
found regard for omens, good and evil. Any trifling change 
in the ordinary course of affairs, natural or artificial,—the 
recovery of a drooping branch, or inadvertently putting 
the left shoe on the right foot,—was to him either a warn¬ 
ing or a promise, as the case might be; and matters of the 
gravest importance were postponed or accelerated in con¬ 
sequence. He had a great dread of thunder and lightning, 
and as a fancied protection therefrom usually carried a 
seal-skin; notwithstanding which, upon the first sign of an 
approaching storm, he retired for safety to some under¬ 
ground vault. 

He was always an industrious student of the liberal arts, 
and although greatly overshadowed by his famous kinsman, 
possessed both eloquence and literary ability of no mean 
order. To his love of magnificence and appreciation of fine 
architecture are due the most considerable of the famous 
structures which contributed so largely to the glory of the 
Eternal City and the Augustan era as well; although it is 
after all extremely doubtful that Rome would have been 
thus beautified and posterity enriched but for the broad¬ 
minded genius of Agrippa. 

[ 26 ] 


CiESAR AUGUSTUS 

With the help of his two great ministers—Maecenas be¬ 
ing in some respects as able and vigorous as the Emperor’s 
son-in-law—Augustus accomplished many excellent re¬ 
forms both in Roman society and the administration of its 
government. The city, which had become infested with 
robbers and other lawless characters, was made a safe place 
to dwell in by the organization of a ward police and the 
appointment of fire wardens for each district. The finan¬ 
cial affairs of the State were readjusted and placed upon a 
sound footing; crimes were punished and various evil prac¬ 
tices corrected; wise laws were established and enforced; 
colonies were planted; and a general display of clemency 
and moderation, coupled with a great number of magnifi¬ 
cent public spectacles and entertainments which for variety 
and splendor surpassed all former example, at once secured 
the approval of the wise and thoughtful and gained the 
everlasting regard of the common people. Whatever his 
vices and whatever his virtues, as far as regards the ap¬ 
proval and contentment of the governed, the Emperor 
Augustus developed into a consummate ruler. With one 
accord, as we are told, the entire body of the people of¬ 
fered him the title of “Father of his country,” and most 
of the important offices of the State were united in him 
for life. As consul he could propose any law in the Senate, 
the personnel of which, in case of its refusal to vote as he 
wished, might be changed by virtue of his authority as 
censor; and as tribune he could finally veto any law pro¬ 
posed by another. As preetor he acted as judge whenever 
he wished, there being no appeal from his decision. His 
power as consul was enlarged by making him Imperator 
for life, and thus attaching a perpetual military command 
to his person; and in addition to this he was invested with 
the proconsular authority in all the Roman provinces, in- 
[ 27 ] 




THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

eluding Italy and Rome itself: the power of the procon¬ 
suls being entirely absolute under the old constitutions. 
And when finally, upon the death of his old associate, the 
triumvir Lepidus, 1 Augustus was made Pontifex Maxi¬ 
mus, an office of high importance from the sanctity at¬ 
taching to it and the influence it gave him over the entire 
religious system, by the mere union of the ordinary execu¬ 
tive powers, he arrived at the full measure of imperial 
sovereignty. 

While posterity has been divided in its judgment of 
Augustus, the weight of opinion seems to be that the 
Emperor passed judgment upon himself in the famous 
death-bed remark to his friends: “Have I acted well my 
part? Then applaud me.” He certainly either proved him¬ 
self an accomplished actor, or else his life presents a 
remarkable instance of the obliteration of native evil in¬ 
stincts, by the sheer force of the responsibility and duty 
attaching to an elevated public office. The evil deeds 
which blackened the first thirty-five years of his life can 
never be erased, nor can they be reconciled with De 
Quincey’s reasoning that “during the forty-two years of 
his prosperity and his triumph, being above fear, he 
showed the natural lenity of his temper” It is next to 
impossible for a man to attain the age of thirty-five and 
not make a display of his real character. In the early life 
of Augustus leniency figures only reflexively in connec¬ 
tion with the crimes of himself and his associates, while 
his cruelties were by the brilliant English essayist him¬ 
self confessed to be “equal in atrocity to any which are 
recorded.” The true explanation of the striking change of 
character which marked the final accession to power of 
the Emperor Augustus is that advanced by Dr. Schmitz: 

1 This occurred in the year 12 b. c. For Lepidus, see ante, page 21. 

[ 28 ] 



LI VIA 






CiESAR AUGUSTUS 

“That his own fears compelled him to strive after the 
affection of the people; and supported by his friends he 
learned to appear good even when he was differently in¬ 
clined.” But as the same writer has suggested, even assum¬ 
ing that none of his actions proceeded from a noble soul, 
and if all were merely a series of hypocrisies, it cannot be 
denied that what he actually did, under whatsoever guise 
accomplished, was the source of incalculable blessing and 
advantage to Rome and the world. All civilization owes a 
benediction to the man who established a form of govern¬ 
ment which has played so mighty a part in the world’s 
progress; and for the moment forgetting the possible 
motives which prompted him, and remembering only his 
connection with one of the most remarkable periods in 
the history of man, we impulsively comply with his last 
imperial command and applaud him. 


[ 29 ] 


CHAPTER III 

THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

F OLLOWING an established custom, Caius Octavius 
had contracted the young Octavius at a tender age 
to a daughter of Publius Servilius Isauricus. But when 
the Bologna compact was made, the army desired that 
the confederacy should be confirmed by a matrimonial alli¬ 
ance of some sort and the most convenient and promising 
seemed to be a marriage between Augustus and Claudia, 
the daughter of Antony’s wife Fulvia by her former hus¬ 
band, Publius Claudius. Claudia was at the time scarcely 
at the threshold of girlhood, and soon afterwards, as the 
result of a quarrel with his mother-in-law, Augustus di¬ 
vorced her. He next married Scribonia, the daughter of 
L. Scribonius Libo, and whose sister was the wife of Sex¬ 
tus Pompeius. Scribonia had been already twice married to 
men of consular rank, one of whom was Scipio, the father 
of Cornelia, whose death is lamented by Propertius. By 
Scribonia he had a daughter Julia, his only child. 

After the birth of Julia, being as he declared tired to 
death by the ill-nature and perversity of Scribonia, Au¬ 
gustus divorced her and immediately thereafter married 
Livia Drusilla, who was at the time the wife of Tiberius 
Nero. Each of his previous marriages had been made 
purely from motives of personal interest: the first to seal 
the confederacy of the triumvirs; the second with a view 
of preventing a union against him of Sextus Pompey and 
Antony after the siege of Perusia. Into his third marriage, 
however, he was hurried by his passion for another man’s 
wife, and judging from its results and the long train of 
[ 30 ] 



JULIA DAUGHTER OF AUGUSTUS 








THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

crime and infamy which it entailed upon the house of 
Caesar and the race of emperors, never was there a wicked 
passion which ought so surely to have been strangled in 
its inception. 

Livia Drusilla was the daughter of Livius Drusus Clau- 
dianus, a member of the Claudian family, who took his 
name from the house of Livius, into which he had been 
adopted. He had fought at the battle of Philippi on the 
side of liberty; and seeing the day lost, there had died 
by his own hand. Livia married Tiberius Claudius Nero, 
also of the Claudian house, who espoused the cause of 
Antony, and Augustus perhaps saw her first when she 
was fleeing from the danger which threatened her hus¬ 
band during the Perusian war, or possibly a little later, at 
the wedding of Antony and Octavia. Augustus was only 
twenty-five or twenty-six years of age at the time. The 
personal and political considerations for his alliance with 
the family of Pompey were no longer of force, and unable 
to control his passion for Livia, he divorced Scribonia on 
the very day of his daughter Julias birth, and with the 
approbation of the augurs, which he had no difficulty in 
obtaining, celebrated his third marriage. While it is not 
certain that this was done with Livia s own inclination 
—the actual wishes of her husband, of course, were not 
consulted, although his formal consent seems to have 
been obtained—subsequent events would indicate that she 
was easily reconciled to her lot. At the time of her mar¬ 
riage to Augustus she was the mother of one son, Tibe¬ 
rius, and three months afterwards was born her second 
son, Drusus, of whom Tiberius Nero was also the father. 
Although ardently desired by both parties, no children 
resulted from her marriage with Augustus, and when it 
became apparent that her predominant ambition of giving 
[ 31 ] 


THE HOUSE OF C^SAR 

an heir to the Roman Empire was not to be gratified 
through her union with Caesar, she seems to have deliber¬ 
ately set about accomplishing her end by the extermi¬ 
nation of all the Emperor’s family, with the expectation 
of ultimately securing her own son’s succession by the 
fiction of adoption. By a combination of patience, perse¬ 
verance, craftiness, dissimulation, and general wickedness 
which has seldom been equalled, she finally accomplished 
her purpose. But the catastrophe was far reaching. Her 
own descendants—Tiberius included—were engulfed, and 
one by one the whole race of Caesar was swept away by 
the great wave of hatred, passion, and inordinate ambition 
which this woman called from the deep and from whose 
angry embrace scarcely one in ten of her son’s successors 
escaped. “To the disgrace of her sex,” says the annotator 
of Suetonius, “she introduced among the Romans the 
horrible practice of domestic murder, little known before 
the times when the thirst or intoxication of unlimited 
power had vitiated the social affections; and she trans¬ 
mitted to succeeding ages a pernicious example, by which 
immoderate ambition might be gratified at the expense of 
every moral obligation as well as of humanity.” 

Livia is said to have been very beautiful. According to 
Tacitus, in her domestic deportment “she was formed 
after the model of primitive sanctity, but with more affa¬ 
bility than was allowed by ladies of old; as a mother, zeal¬ 
ous and determined; as a wife, kind and indulgent; well 
adapted to the fastidious and complex character of her 
husband and the subtle nature of her son.” It was per¬ 
haps the display of these domestic virtues which in the 
eyes of the Roman people, and the gods as well, counter¬ 
balanced the enormities of her domestic crimes. At any 
event, she lived, according to Pliny, to attain the great 
[ 32 ] 


THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 


age of eighty-two, having received the imperial title of ^ 
Augusta after her husband’s death. Through the marriage 
of her son Drusus with Antonia, who was the daughter of 
Mark Antony and the younger Octavia, sister of Augustus, 
and the marriage of her grandson Germanicus with Agrip¬ 
pina, the granddaughter of Augustus, in her descendants 
she was doubly united in blood to the imperial family. 

The union was fatal to the race of Caesar. The student of 
heredity may well wonder whether the fate of the Roman 
world would not have been vastly different but for this 
third marriage of the Emperor Augustus. 

Julia, the fourth of that name in the descent of the v/ 
Caesars, and the only daughter of the Emperor Augustus, 
by his second wife Scribonia, was born about the year 
36 b. c. In early life she appears to have shown great 
promise, having been distinguished alike for her beauty 
and abilities; but her father’s hopes in her behalf were 
destined at an early day to be rudely shocked and finally 
destroyed completely. She became a notorious profligate 
and her excesses finally became so shameless that she was 
banished for life by Augustus, who is said to have actually 
thought of putting her to death. 

At the outset, however, as an only child, she was an ob¬ 
ject of the greatest solicitude to her father—her mother, 
it will be remembered, having been divorced by Augustus 
on the day of Julia’s birth. And when it became apparent 
that she was to be his only direct heir, her future, and 
especially her marriage, became of the highest concern to 
the Emperor. Her father seems to have first promised her 
in marriage to a son of Mark Antony; then to Cotiso, the 
barbarian King of Gete. But neither his personal views 
nor reasons of State were fully met by either of these con¬ 
templated alliances. And finally, with a view both to sup- 
[ 33 ] 




THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

porting his domination and providing a fitting consort for 
his daughter, Augustus raised to the dignity of pontiff and 
/ curule sedile Claudius Marcellus, the son of his sister, the 
younger Octavia. Marcellus was a mere youth at the time, 
but upon the completion of his minority his marriage with 
Julia was celebrated. This Marcellus was the one cele¬ 
brated in the beautiful lines of the sixth JEneid, where 
he is introduced into the vision of Roman grandeurs yet 
unborn which were revealed to iEneas in the shades; for 
which Virgil received an immense reward from Octavia. 

Marcellus died soon after his marriage, and it seems 
probable that the wicked arts of Livia were first exercised 
in connection with his death. For while history is not 
positive on this point, the manifest determination of the 
Empress to secure the succession for her own son, her 
subsequent acts in this connection and the “secret appre¬ 
hensions” of the people referred to by Tacitus in speaking 
of “Marcellus, who was snatched in his youth from the 
ardent affections of the populace,” coupled with the pre¬ 
mature death of a youth theretofore in perfect health, have 
been sufficient to convince more than one modern histo¬ 
rian that he was poisoned by his mother-in-law. 

Upon the death of Marcellus, Augustus selected for the 
second husband of his daughter his oldest friend and most 
useful adherent, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. At the time 
of this marriage there existed what in these days would be 
considered a serious obstacle to its consummation, in the 
fact that Agrippa was already married—his wife being 
one of the two sisters of the deceased Marcellus. But a 
Ceesar did not mind such a little thing. Plutarch says that 
Octavia herself, who was undoubtedly a woman of extraor¬ 
dinary merit, and for whom Augustus had great affection, 
proposed the match to her brother. However this may be, 

[ 34 ] 





JULIA DAUGHTER OF AUGUSTUS 


























THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

Augustus and Agrippa agreed upon the point, and the 
latter, having divorced his wife, immediately married Julia, 
while “Marcella, late Agrippina,” was forthwith married ^ 
by her mother to Julius Antony, the only surviving son of 
Octavia’s lately deceased husband, Mark Antony, by his 
first wife, Fulvia. One scarcely knows which to admire v 
most in matrimonial transactions of this kind, which were 
not unusual among the Romans of that day: the readiness 
with which husbands abandoned their wives and children 
in order to form new marital alliances pro bono publico , 
or the complaisance with which wives yielded to the exi¬ 
gencies of a situation as to which they seem never to have 
been consulted. 

Julia’s new husband, although of mean birth, was an ac¬ 
complished soldier, and had already been honored by two 
successive consulships. He was both virtuous and vigorous 
to an unusual degree, and possessing at once fine taste and 
executive ability of a high order, he had proved himself a 
most useful servant of the Emperor, whose sagacity was 
never more apparent than in selecting Agrippa for his 
chief minister. To his taste and fondness for building were 
due most of the noble edifices with which Rome was beau¬ 
tified during this era, while many of the most useful re¬ 
forms were attributable to his genius; but all of these acts 
were of course done in the name of his august master, who 
alone had the credit of them. 

Although the friendship between Augustus and Agrippa 
had been clouded for a time by the intrigues of Livia, who 
was exceedingly jealous of Agrippa’s high place in her 
husband’s esteem and who feared, with reason, that the 
Emperor had resolved to leave the throne to him, a per¬ 
fect confidence again existed between the Emperor and 
his general, so that Julia’s marriage with the latter seemed 
[ 35 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

to answer all her father’s wishes. His satisfaction increased 
with the successive birth of his five grandchildren, who 
were named, respectively, Caius, Lucius, Julia, Agrippina, 
and Agrippa Postumus, so called because he was born 
after the death of his father. The latter after his last mili¬ 
tary employment in Pannonia lived in retirement and great 
honor until his death, in the sixty-first year of his age, in 
the year 12 b. c., two years before that of Csesar Augus¬ 
tus. That he escaped a violent death is not one of the least 
tributes to his character, although undoubtedly it was 
largely due to the fact that Li via was for the time address¬ 
ing her machinations to the banishment and assassination 
of his children, who were the direct obstacles in the way 
of her own son’s succession. 

Of the fate of Agrippa’s wife Marcella, the daughter 
of Octavia, or of their children (Suetonius says they 
had several) we know nothing beyond the fact of the di¬ 
vorced wife’s second marriage already mentioned. By his 
first wife, Pomponia, daughter of the celebrated Atticus, 
Agrippa had at least one child, Vipsania Agrippina, who 
became the first wife of the Emperor Tiberius. According 
to Tacitus, she was the only one of Agrippa’s children who 
escaped death by the sword, poison, or famine. After her 
divorce by Tiberius, Vipsania married Asinius Gallus, son 
of the celebrated orator Asinius Pollio, who flourished 
under Julius Csesar. Gallus, who seems to have inherited 
the haughty spirit of his father, provoked Tiberius by a 
display of independence in marked contrast with the ser¬ 
vility of the other senators. Tiberius had also probably re¬ 
sented the marriage of Gallus with Vipsania, for whom 
her first husband cherished a real passion and from whom 
he parted, on the occasion of his marriage with Julia, with 
extreme reluctance. Gallus was thrown into prison, and 

C 36 ] 


THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

after languishing there three years perished by starvation 
at the hands of the Emperor, who refused even to grant 
the privilege of burial. Many of his descendants are said to 
have attained the consular rank. 

Augustus displayed the greatest interest in the welfare 
and fortunes of his grandchildren,—the offspring of Julia 
and Agrippa. The two eldest sons, Caius and Lucius, he V 
adopted by the ceremony of purchase—a sort of fictitious 
sale—from their father, and took them into his own home, 
where they became his constant companions, their educa¬ 
tion being conducted in a great measure by their grand¬ 
father himself. They assumed the name of Csesar, were ^ 
marked out as consuls-elect, to take office at the proper 
age, and were introduced to the armies as the heirs of the 
Emperor. 

But Livia, whose purpose to secure the throne for Tibe¬ 
rius had now become the engrossing passion of her life, 
was only biding her time, and the occasion soon arrived. 
Julia, the mother of the two young men, had already 
entered upon her career of infamy. After the death of v‘ 
Agrippa at the instance of Livia, she had been given in 
marriage to the latter’s eldest son, Tiberius, and the way / 
thus paved, as Livia thought, for the adoption of Tiberius 
as the Emperor’s son and heir, if Julia’s children could be 
removed. Julia had become so notorious, through her rela¬ 
tions with Sempronius Gracchus, even during the lifetime 
of Agrippa, that Tiberius was inspired—or pretended to 
be—with disgust for her from the start. It seems unques¬ 
tionable that this was part of a deep-laid plan on the part 
of Livia to alienate her husband’s affections from his 
daughter, as an important step in her plan. It is even said 
that Livia herself had deliberately tempted Julia to set 
out upon her evil ways, although of this there is no suf- 
[ 37 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

ficient proof. Gracchus, who might have been a witness of 
the fact, was afterwards murdered by order of Tiberius. 

However this may be, Tiberius soon separated from his 
wife and withdrew to the island of Rhodes, where he lived 
in the greatest retirement. During his absence Julia was 
guilty of such open shamelessness that Augustus himself 
divorced her in the name of his son-in-law, presenting the 
facts to the Senate in a message read by the quaestor. The 
fate of J ulia was as wretched as her mature life had been 
abominable. She was first banished by her father to the 
island of Pandataria, off the coast of Campania, where she 
was treated with the greatest harshness. Five years later 
she was removed to Reggio (in Calabria) and treated with 
less severity; but her father always refused to forgive her, 
replying to the Roman people, who several times inter¬ 
posed in her behalf, “I wish you all had such daughters 
and wives as she is.” Finally, in continued disgrace and 
exile, after the flight of all hope by the murder of her 
last son, she died of starvation at the hands of her hus¬ 
band and stepbrother, Tiberius, who had succeeded her 
father as Emperor. Truly the ways of the transgressor are 
hard. 

With the disgrace and banishment of Julia, Livia felt 
that the moment had arrived, and the hopes which Au¬ 
gustus cherished in his favorite grandsons were speedily 
brought to an end. Lucius Caesar, the youngest, was sud¬ 
denly taken ill, while on his way to assume command of 
the army in Spain, and died at Massilia in the year 1. A 
few months later his elder brother, Caius Caesar, who was 
in command on the Parthian frontier, received a slight 
wound in Armenia. It seemed a mere scratch at the time, 
but on his way home he was taken ill in Lycia and died 
there. Each of them, as Tacitus discreetly says, “cut off 
[ 38 ] 



AG1UPPA 






















































































































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. 

































































































































THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

either by a death premature but natural, or by the arts 
of their stepmother Livia.” From all the surrounding cir¬ 
cumstances, in connection with what had gone before and 
what followed, we must believe that it was a case of art, 
rather than nature. 

Lucius Caesar was not married, but his brother Caius 
had for a wife Livia, the daughter of his stepfathers (Ti¬ 
berius) brother Drusus, who had married the Emperor’s 
niece, Antonia. Caius and Livia had no children, but after 
the death of the former his widow married her own cousin, 
Drusus, only son of the Emperor Tiberius. The wretched 
fate of Livia, her second husband, and their children will 
appear in a following chapter. 

Of the remaining children of Julia and Agrippa, Julia, 
who seems to have been the eldest daughter, was mar¬ 
ried to Lucius iEmilius Paulus, a grandnephew of the tri¬ 
umvir Lepidus . 1 Including his own holding of the office 
of chief magistrate, he was of consular rank in the fourth 
generation, and at the time of his marriage was at the 
head of what was considered the noblest house in Rome. 
So that the marriage was in every respect gratifying to the 
pride and ambition of the first Emperor, who foresaw in 
this new alliance the promise of another line of descend¬ 
ants who would strengthen the pretensions of his house. 
As matter of fact, the blood of Augustus was through this 
marriage transmitted to the fifth generation. But instead 
of adding strength to the imperial structure, the very ex¬ 
istence of these descendants, with their powerful claims to 
the throne, provoked the successors of Augustus to addi¬ 
tional acts of violence against their kindred, and thus con¬ 
tributed to the obliteration of the family and the final 
ruin of the edifice. Every one of the links in this chain 
1 Ante, page 21. 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

of the descent was eventually destroyed, and by Nero’s 
murder of the younger Silanus, the great-great-great- 
grandson of Augustus, this one of the first Emperor’s two 
lines of direct descent came to an end . 1 

Two children were born to Julia and L. iEmilius. One 
of them, Marcus Lepidus, married his cousin german, Dru- 
silla, who was the daughter of Germanicus and Agrip¬ 
pina, the sister of Julia. Hrusilla was the divorced wife 
of the Emperor Caligula, by whom Lepidus (of whom 
^ Caligula was also own cousin) was put to death . 2 

The other child of L. iEmilius and Julia was ^Emilia 
Lepida, who, after first marrying Claudius (afterwards Em¬ 
peror), the brother-in-law of her aunt Agrippina, became 
the wife of Appius Junius Silanus and the mother of five 
children, some good, some bad, but each of whom sus¬ 
tained a tragic part in the carnival of crime which dis¬ 
graced the reigns of Claudius and Nero . 3 

After the birth of her children Julia seems to have 
deliberately followed in the footsteps of her dissolute mo¬ 
ther, the Emperor’s daughter; and finally abandoned her¬ 
self to such gross wickedness that Augustus was compelled 
to take note of it . 4 She was banished to the island of Tri- 
merus, near the coast of Apulia, and there remained in 
exile for many years. Her father was dead; her mother 
had also been banished in disgrace; her second husband 
and children alienated by her faithless conduct. Separated 
from the companions in her dissolute courses, and utterly 
abandoned by her indignant grandfather, she was sus¬ 
tained only by relief from Livia, who, according to Tacitus, 

1 Post, pages 157 and 158. 2 Post, page 87. 3 Post, chaps, ix and xi. 

4 The particular crime for which Julia was condemned was improper con¬ 
duct with Decius Silanus, uncle of Junia Claudia, the first wife of Caligula. 
See page 82. 


[ 40 ] 


THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

“having by secret devices overthrown her stepchildren in 
their prosperity, made an open show of compassion toward 
them in their adversity.” An illegitimate child of Julia’s, 
who was called Lucius Antonius (whose father, Julius 
Antonius , 1 had been put to death by Augustus for this 
adultery), was taken from her and brought up in exile at 
Massilia (Marseilles), where he escaped subsequent perse¬ 
cution by dying in early youth. The exile of his mother 
continued until for some inscrutable reason she was per¬ 
mitted to die a natural death—if such it could be termed 
when caused by privation and the lack of proper care and 
nourishment. 

Julia’s husband did not live to witness his wife’s un- 
happy fate. His high position and splendid ancestry were 
after all merely the passports to what was fast coming to 
be the only legitimate ending of a high-born Roman. His 
uncle had perished in a conspiracy against the State, and 
iEmilius himself now lost his life under similar circum¬ 
stances. The fact of his conspiracy is well attested, al¬ 
though its exact period (it was in the reign of Augustus) 
and the precise method of punishment are not specified. 

The other line of direct descent of the Emperor Au¬ 
gustus was through the second daughter of Julia and v/ 
Agrippa, whose name was Agrippina . 2 Agrippina was 
married by her grandfather to Germanicus, who was the 
son of Tiberius’s brother Drusus and Antonia the younger, 
daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia. Being thus grafted 
upon the younger line, she was for the time being out of 
the way and there remained only Julia’s fifth child be¬ 
tween the full fruition of Livia’s hopes in the adoption of 

1 Probably Mark Antony’s son Antony (by Fulvia) who married Marcella, 
niece of Augustus and first wife of Agrippa. Ante, page 35. 

2 For the posterity of Agrippina, see post, page 6l. 

[ 41 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

Tiberius by the Emperor. Never was her crafty nature 
more cunningly displayed than now. The opportunity 
was not ripe to destroy the remaining heir, Postumus 
Agrippa. Although she had become an object of suspicion 
to the public through the premature deaths of the two 
Caesars, thus far she had played the game without in the 
slightest arousing her husband’s suspicion. Another death 
at this juncture might awaken his distrust and destroy his 
confidence forever. The risk would be too great. She would 
make one more flight of the long ascent upon which she 
had toiled so patiently and remorselessly. The result could 
be made equally sure. And so Augustus was importuned 
by his wife, whose influence over him was still unbounded, 
to adopt both Tiberius and the surviving son of Agrippa 
as his children and heirs to the throne. It was a master 
stroke. Postumus Agrippa had never been a favorite. He 
was of a coarse nature, given to folly, and intractable. His 
future was at the best uncertain; Rome must not be left 
without a master; and besides, was not Tiberius already 
his son, by marriage with Julia? The Emperor was easily 
persuaded, and Agrippa and Tiberius were adopted in the 
Forum, by a law passed for the purpose by the Senate 
about the year 3 a. d. The remainder of Livia’s task was 
easy. By frequent playing upon the brutal temperament 
and unruly disposition of Postumus Agrippa and exagger¬ 
ating his faults upon every occasion, she readily enlarged 
the Emperor’s prejudices against his grandson, until finally 
the unfortunate young man was banished to the island of 
Planasia, where a guard of soldiers was placed about him 
under an act that he be confined for life, which Augustus 
procured from his servile Senate. Nothing now remained 
for him but death at the hands of his grandfather’s wife 
and his mother’s husband, who was his brother by adoption. 

[ 42 ] 



AGRIPPA 





THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

And now Livia was triumphant; her son Tiberius re¬ 
mained the sole heir to the sovereignty of Rome. Augustus 
never spoke of the two Julias—his daughter and grand¬ 
daughter—and of his grandson Agrippa except as “the 
three cancers.” He left a memorandum with his will that 
the two Julias should not be buried in his tomb. True, 
there remained his other granddaughter, Agrippina, a 
woman of noble nature and high spirit, who had become 
the wife of a man of elevated character, Livia’s grandson, 
Germanicus. And in order to ensure the succession for a 
longer period, Tiberius was shortly compelled by Augustus 
to adopt Germanicus as his son—notwithstanding the fact 
that he already had a son Drusus, by his first wife, Vipsania 
Agrippina. But these things in effect only contributed to 
Livia’s delight and increased her pride and vanity from 
the additional assurance which they conveyed that sover¬ 
eign power and authority would be continued in her fam¬ 
ily. Nothing remained for the complete fulfilment of her 
dream but the death of Augustus, and that was not to be 
long delayed. 

It has been commonly accepted that Augustus came to 
his end in the course of nature and died peacefully in the 
arms of his wife. The historian Suetonius in relating the 
occurrence declares that when the end was visibly ap¬ 
proaching Livia sent hasty messengers for Tiberius, with 
whom the dying Emperor had a long and affectionate in¬ 
terview, and pretends that his last words were “Farewell, 
Livia, and ever be mindful of our long union.” Tacitus, on 
the other hand, insists that it was never clearly established 
whether these stories were not fabrications, and whether 
the Emperor was not dead when Tiberius arrived at Nola. 
He declares that there were many conflicting rumors about 
the event; among others, that Augustus had secretly 
[ 48 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

visited Postumus Agrippa, his grandson, in the island of 
Planasia, and that tears were shed on both sides, and many 
expressions of mutual tenderness given, which led to ex¬ 
pectations that the son of Agrippa would yet be restored 
to his rightful inheritance; that these things coming to 
the ears of Livia, Tiberius was immediately summoned 
and measures taken to ensure against the prize being lost, 
just as it was about to reach their grasp. However this 
may be, it is probable that the closing scenes in the Em¬ 
peror’s life were shrouded in secrecy, and that Livia had 
the palace surrounded by vigilant guards and all avenues 
of information closely sealed, while favorable bulletins 
were given out until the very moment when the death of 
Augustus and the accession of Tiberius were proclaimed 
in the same breath. From all this, in connection with her 
known wickedness and insatiable desire for the accom¬ 
plishment of the end which she had pursued for so many 
years, it is not surprising that many suspected nefarious 
practices on the part of Livia around this last death-bed 
which brought her to the goal of her ambition. But wicked 
beyond measure as she unquestionably was, in the absence 
of better proof we must acquit her of this last horrible 
charge. 

The death of Augustus occurred August 19, 14 a. d., 
in the seventy-seventh year of his age and the fifty-eighth 
of his reign, dating from the death of Cassar. The Empire 
had been established about thirty-eight years, and the 
sovereign authority had become so securely entrenched 
in his house that his chief heir would be assured of the 
succession. When his will was opened it was found that 
Tiberius and Livia were named as his direct heirs, the 
one for two-thirds of the estate, Livia for the remaining 
third, and both were requested to assume the name of 
[ 44 ] 


THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 

Caesar. The heirs in remainder were Drusus, Tiberius’s 
son, for one-third, and Germanicus (Tiberius’s nephew and 
adopted son, and who was of the blood of Augustus / 
through his mother Antonia, the daughter of Octavia) 
and his three sons for the residue. Thus the Emperor’s 
own grandson, Postumus Agrippa, remained an outcast 
and disinherited. What use, then, in prolonging his life? 
And so the last line in this dark chapter of the imperial 
family history, as it was the first atrocity of the new reign, 
was the murder of Agrippa. The assassin, a bold and de¬ 
termined centurion, found him destitute of arms, and yet 
it is said was scarcely able to despatch him. And the new 
Emperor and the wretched mother who had done such 
fearful wrong for this fleeting moment of vanity and tri¬ 
umph, in justifying the deed, declared that before his death 
the Emperor had given orders “not to delay to slay Agrippa 
whensoever he himself had completed his last day.” Pos¬ 
terity must decide whether Augustus, who with all his 
faults had never hardened himself to the extent of inflict¬ 
ing death upon any member of his family, or a mother and 
son who committed so many dreadful crimes against their 
kindred, gave the orders for this most deliberate and cold¬ 
blooded of all the murders which had thus far stained the 
house of Caesar. 


[ 45 ] 


CHAPTER IV 

TIBERIUS CjESAR, THE SECOND EMPEROR 
From 14 A. D. to 37 A. D. 

IBERIUS NERO, Cassar by adoption, was descended 



1 from the Claudian family. He was the son of Tibe¬ 
rius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His father attained distinc¬ 
tion under Julius Caesar, in the Alexandrine war. After 
the death of Caesar, Tiberius espoused the cause of Antony 
and for a time made some headway in fomenting opposi¬ 
tion to Augustus. But he was soon overcome and com¬ 
pelled to flee with his wife to Sicily, and thence to Achaia. 
It is said that Augustus first saw the beautiful wife of 
Tiberius at the time of this flight, but it seems probable 
that the meeting did not occur until after the Bologna 
compact made it safe for Tiberius to return to Rome, his 
name not appearing upon the proscribed list, which pre¬ 
sumably would not have been the case if Augustus was 
already enamoured of his wife. And all the traditions agree 
that with Augustus it was “love at first sight.” The fatal 
meeting perhaps occurred at the wedding of Mark Antony 
and Octavia, after the peace of Brundusium, at which the 
bride was attended by Livia, at that time a beautiful 
young woman of eighteen. Augustus was about twenty- 
six years old, and his second wife, Scribonia, was living 
and about to present him with an heir. But he was fasci¬ 
nated by the charms of Livia and immediately requested 
Tiberius Nero to resign his wife. The latter obeyed the 
command—for such in effect it was—notwithstanding the 
fact that his wife was young, beautiful, and accomplished, 
the mother of one son, and about to present him with an- 


[ 46 ] 



CAIUS C/ESAR SON OF JULIA AND AGRIPPA 

































































* 




































































































































































. 































































































TIBERIUS CAESAR 

other. As Caesar was master of Rome, with a dozen legions 
at his back, and Tiberius had barely crossed the threshold 
of forgiveness after his rebellion, it was doubtless a case of 
coercive persuasion. We may to a certain extent appre¬ 
ciate the reasons for his compliance in those times of law¬ 
less proscription, but it is difficult to understand his final 
degradation in the matter; he is said to have actually offi¬ 
ciated at the marriage and in the character of father be¬ 
stowed his beautiful young wife upon the future Emperor. 
His friends afterwards declared that he yielded to this 
public humiliation to save his life. It would seem that the 
life of a man who would submit to such demands was not 
worth saving; and so the gods evidently considered, even 
in degenerate Rome, for Tiberius Nero died very soon 
afterwards. His second son, Drusus, was born about three / 
months after the marriage of Livia and Augustus. 

Tiberius Nero, afterwards Tiberius Cassar, was born in 
the Palatine quarter at Rome upon the sixteenth of the 
Calends of December, 712 a. u. c. (November 16, 39 b. c.). 
He and his brother Drusus seem to have experienced the 
love and affection of Augustus, and at the early age of 
nineteen years Tiberius received his first public appoint¬ 
ment, that of quaestor, thereafter holding successively the 
offices of praetor and consul. He achieved a decided mili¬ 
tary success in the East, where he was sent after the failure 
and death of Crassus in the Parthian war, and seems also 
to have displayed no less ability in the administration of 
his civil offices under the State. 

In view of his military and other successes and his rela¬ 
tions with the Emperor, it would not be unnatural if he 
had shared in the ambitious schemes which were cherished 
in his behalf by the bold and unscrupulous Empress. But 
all of their hopes were, for the time being at least, dispelled 
[ 47 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

by the marriage of Julia to Agrippa and the birth of lineal 
male descendants of the Emperor. Caius and Lucius Ceesar 
were adopted by Augustus, and the eldest was married at 
an early age to Livia, a daughter of Tiberius’s brother 
Drusus, herself of the blood of Augustus through her mo¬ 
ther, Antonia; so that everything indicated an established 
succession in the line of direct descent. 

Tiberius accordingly seems to have abandoned any ex¬ 
pectations he may have cherished of attaining the purple, 
and contracted a love marriage with Vipsania Agrippina, 
the daughter of Agrippa by his wife Pomponia, the daugh¬ 
ter of Atticus. But the undaunted Livia never faltered in 
her ambitious projects. Upon the death of Agrippa, she 
prevailed upon her husband to bestow Julia, in a third 
marriage, upon Tiberius. 

The consent of Augustus was more easily obtained than 
that of Tiberius himself. Not only was he fond of Vipsania, 
who had already borne him a son, but he was disgusted 
with the Emperor’s daughter, whose extreme profligacy was 
known to every one except Augustus himself. He yielded 
Anally to his mother’s imperious will, but with the greatest 
reluctance, and a historian of the times relates that upon 
meeting Agrippina after his divorce he looked after her 
with eyes so passionately expressive of affection that care 
was taken she should never again come in his sight. 

But in the great game which Livia was playing, what 
counted the heartache of her son or the despair of a virtu¬ 
ous daughter-in-law forever separated not only from an 
affectionate husband, but from her only child as well? An 
Empire was to be the stake; and for a woman who had 
cheerfully sacrificed her own purity and domestic happi¬ 
ness to gratify a personal ambition, the natural inclinations 
of her son for the wife he had chosen were of no more 
[ 48 ] 


TIBERIUS CAESAR 

importance than the wishes of her former husband when 
Augustus demanded her for his bride. And so the unna¬ 
tural alliance was consummated—willingly on the part of 
the widowed Julia, who was said to have made advances 
to Tiberius during the lifetime of her former husband; and 
Livia could feel that the first important play had been 
made, and that she had won. Tiberius was now the Em¬ 
peror’s son-in-law; from that relation to sonship by adop¬ 
tion was but a step; and then—Let those who stood 
between them and the goal, beware! 

For a time Tiberius lived quietly with his new wife. But 
after the birth of a daughter, who died in infancy, their 
mutual dislike led finally to an open rupture, and Tibe¬ 
rius declared he would never live with Julia again. Shortly 
afterwards, having commanded for a time in Germany, 
where he completed the conquests and avenged the death 
of his brother Drusus, he suddenly demanded permission 
from the Emperor to retire from Rome. Various reasons 
have been assigned as the cause of a request which at the 
time and under the circumstances was considered so ex¬ 
traordinary. By some it was attributed to an overpowering 
disgust created by the profligacy of Julia; by others to a 
generous desire on his part not to overshadow, by his pres¬ 
ence, the reputation of his stepsons, who had been adopted 
by the Emperor; while others suggested that he withdrew 
from public life in order that his loss might be appreciated 
from his absence. None of these reasons would seem to be 
the true one; the last is too puerile; the second indicates 
a character which he did not possess; the first would be 
utterly insufficient for a man of his coarse fibre. The ac¬ 
tual motive of his act came undoubtedly from Livia, who 
planned in this way to effect a lasting breach between 
Augustus and his daughter. The request of Tiberius was 
[ 49 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

represented to the Emperor as proceeding from unendur¬ 
able shame at the conduct of Julia, now apparently for the 
first time brought to the Emperor’s knowledge. Tiberius 
refused to listen to the entreaties of Augustus—in which 
his mother hypocritically joined—and finally sailed away 
for Rhodes, where the news was soon received that Julia 
had been divorced from him by Augustus himself. 

After living in retirement eight years (his request to re¬ 
turn after Julia’s banishment having been denied), he was 
recalled by his mother’s influence and passed the two suc¬ 
ceeding years in privacy at Rome. Then came the deaths 
of Caius and Lucius, the Emperor’s adoptive sons, the joint 
adoption of Tiberius and Postumus Agrippa, the Em¬ 
peror’s grandson, and finally the banishment of Postumus, 
which left Tiberius the heir-apparent of the imperial power, 
now crystallized in the person and title of Caesar. 

From this time until the death of Augustus—a period 
of perhaps ten years—Tiberius was actively engaged with 
affairs of State, either in the conduct of his various public 
offices at Rome, or in successfully conducting military en¬ 
terprises abroad. He acquired great glory by his military 
successes, was repeatedly honored with the highest offices, 
and finally celebrated a pompous triumph, his imperial 
father superintending the solemnity. It was the most hon¬ 
orable period of his life, and it would have been fortunate 
for his memory if he had never lived to taste the pleasures 
of unlimited power, which in those days was synonymous 
with unbridled license. For, as Tacitus declares, the latter 
part of his reign exhibited only a dreadful uniformity of 
guilt; “of savage mandates and incessant accusations, when 
friendship was without confidence and innocence was no 
protection.” 

As we have seen, the death of the Emperor was care- 
[ 50 ] 



LUCIUS CAESAR SON OF JULIA AND AGRIPPA 









































































































































































































































(if 










TIBERIUS CJESAR 

fully concealed by Livia until the accession of her son 
was an accomplished fact. This was done through the im¬ 
mediate assumption by Tiberius of the military functions 
of the Emperor. The praetorian guard submitted to his 
control and received from him the watchword. This was 
half the battle; it foreshadowed the final degradation of the 
State, when the army chose the Emperor without even 
consulting the Senate, selecting on occasion that candidate 
who bid the largest cash sum for the office. But now the 
form of securing the Senate’s approval was still to be ob¬ 
served, and here Tiberius displayed the greatest hypocrisy 
—pretending that he had convened the Senate merely in 
right of his tribunitian power, to read the late Emperor’s 
will and honor him with an apotheosis. Upon being urged 
to ascend the throne, he assumed great diffidence, depre¬ 
cating his abilities to sustain the burdens of government, 
and suggesting that the duties of the State would better 
be apportioned among several citizens. But finally, in the 
midst of the confusion, some one bluntly cried out, “Let 
him either accept or decline at once,” while at the same 
moment one of his friends declared to his face, “ Others 
are slow to perform what they promise, while you are slow 
to promise what you actually perform!” So that finally his 
pretended reluctance gave way and, as Suetonius puts it, 
“complaining of the miserable and burdensome service im¬ 
posed upon him, he accepted the government”; and the 
wretched relic of Roman pride and virtue, represented by 
a subservient Senate and a degraded aristocracy, volun¬ 
tarily accepted the yoke of an infamous servitude which, 
with an occasional interruption, was to endure for many 
centuries. 

Tiberius was somewhat above the usual stature, broad 
shouldered, well formed, and robust. He is said to have 
[ 51 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

been very handsome, with regular features, large dark eyes, 
long curling hair, and a very fair complexion. He bore 
himself with the springy step, erect carriage, and frown¬ 
ing countenance of a successful military leader and spoke 
with the deliberation of a man who, having weighed his 
words carefully, expected that after he had spoken every 
one would consider the subject closed. Until the latter 
part of his reign, when protracted excesses began to tell 
upon even his iron constitution, his health was uninter¬ 
ruptedly good; and it is said that from his thirtieth year 
he lived without medical assistance whatsoever. 

He never entirely abandoned the active habits of army 
life, at the close of his military career indulging freely in 
his favorite exercises of riding and fencing. During the 
ordinary fatigues of a campaign he seemed to take plea¬ 
sure in unnecessary hardships, frequently passing the night 
without a tent, and taking his meals while sitting on the 
bare ground. He was a strict disciplinarian and in the con¬ 
duct of his campaigns displayed the attributes not only of 
a good soldier, but of an able leader as well. In addition 
to the convincing fact of his successes, his ability in war 
is well attested by the Emperor Augustus, a* shrewd ob¬ 
server of men and events, who in various letters extolled 
Tiberius as a consummate general. 

Unlike his immediate successors, he was niggardly (if 
not actually miserly) in the extreme; dispensing nothing 
in charity, giving no public entertainments, and undertak¬ 
ing no public works except the building of the temple of 
Augustus and the restoration of Pompey’s theatre, both 
of which he even left unfinished. His covetousness and the 
passion for accumulation soon led him into acts of high¬ 
handed oppression, not infrequently amounting to sheer 
robbery, without even the form of confiscation, which 
[ 52 ] 


TIBERIUS CAESAR 

latter, however, was his favorite method of adding to his 
treasure. 

He professed an extreme aversion to flattery of every 
sort, refusing frequently to allow persons of rank to ap¬ 
proach for the purpose of extending him a civility; while 
if any one ventured, either in conversation or a set speech, 
to pay him a compliment, he immediately interrupted the 
speaker with a reprimand. 

The cruel and sullen temper displayed by him in child¬ 
hood became more pronounced in mature life, and during 
the last part of his reign his disposition in this respect be¬ 
came so manifest that even Caligula was not more feared 
and hated by the Romans than Tiberius had been. While 
many of his barbarous actions were performed under the 
pretence of what was termed “ strictness and reformation 
of manners,” it must be considered as proven that in the 
large majority of cases they were done merely to gratify 
his own savage disposition. His unbounded tyranny and 
cold brutality provoked bitter reproaches from his vic¬ 
tims; many of those condemned to die addressing the 
most opprobrious remarks to him, while the accusations 
of others were scattered among the senators in the form 
of written hand-bills. To all this—at least until towards 
the close of his life—Tiberius was insensible; declaring 
that “in a free state, both the tongue and the mind ought 
to be free.” 

In regard to other and more shameful vices, the Em¬ 
peror Tiberius seems to have set the pace for Caligula and 
Nero, and while the latter in some parts of the circuit 
outstripped his vile prototype, Tiberius must be accorded 
the badge of general infamy for his life in the island of 
Capri. 

And yet in exercising the supreme power, which he as- 
[ 53 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

sumed by slow degrees, he seems to have been occasion¬ 
ally moved by a regard for the public good. He frequently 
interposed to prevent ill management and injustice, en¬ 
couraged economy in the administration of public affairs, 
expelled the astrologers, and—as we are told—“took 
upon himself the correction of public morals, where they 
tended to decay either through neglect or evil custom ”; 
this latter, of course, with the usual result where the blind 
ventures to lead the blind. 

The history of Tiberius is the direct counterpart of that 
of his predecessor. The duplicity, low cunning, and wicked 
selfishness which characterized the earlier part of the first 
Emperor’s life had in later years given way to a decided 
show of moderation, decent living, and wise concern for 
the prosperity, welfare, and glory of the State. The adopted 
son of Augustus, who had been distinguished for the really 
great qualities displayed during the earlier part of his life, 
immediately following his accession commenced yielding 
to the very lowest promptings of his nature, and in the end 
fulfilled to the unhappy people over whom he ruled the 
prophetic death-bed saying of Augustus: “Alas! Unhappy 
Roman people, to be ground by the jaws of such a slow 
devourer! ” 


[ 54 ] 



POSTUMUS AGKIPPA 








CHAPTER V 
THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 


O F all the emperors of the house of Caesar, Tiberius 
was the least married; for while Augustus had three 
wives, Caligula, the third Emperor, five, Claudius, the ^ 
fourth Emperor, six, and Nero, the fifth Emperor, three, ^ 
Tiberius had but two, one of these even being forced upon 
him against his inclination. 

By his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of v 
Agrippa by his first wife, Pomponia (and thus the step¬ 
daughter of Tiberius’s second wife), and the granddaughter 
on her mother’s side of Csecilius Atticus (a Roman knight 
to whom many of the epistles of Cicero are addressed), he 
had one son, Drusus. The son afterwards born to him by 
Julia died in infancy, so that his posterity was from Drusus 
alone. It is to be remembered, however, that after the 
banishment of Postumus Agrippa, following the adoption 
of Tiberius and himself by Augustus, the latter compelled v 
Tiberius to himself adopt his brother’s son, Germanicus. 
After the fiction of an adoption by purchase, all of the 
rights and duties of both the adopted child and the parent 
surrendering him attached to the new relationship; and the 
adoptive child was universally considered, and by writers 
of contemporaneous history commonly spoken of, as the 
“son” of the adoptive parent. In the family of Tiberius is 
therefore to be included his adopted son, Germanicus, as 
well as his own son, Drusus. 

The first mention of Drusus is his introduction into the 
Forum by his father upon the latter’s return from his self- 
imposed exile at Rhodes. Later he was sent to quell an 
[ 55 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

insurrection among the legions in Pannonia and seems to 
have acquitted himself with tact and ability. Upon his re¬ 
turn he was accorded a triumph and had the further honor 
of two consulships, the second in conjunction with his fa¬ 
ther, who during a part of it retired to Campania, leaving 
Drusus at the head of the State. Germanicus was dead at 
this time, and everything indicated an assured succession in 
Drusus and his posterity. But another Livia had come upon 
the scene, equally ambitious for power with the Augusta, 
and far surpassing her in wickedness and depravity, through 
which Drusus, her husband, was destroyed, the hopes of 
his house swept away, and she herself came to an unpitied 
death at the hands of the frenzied Tiberius. 

Livia was the sister of Germanicus—that is, of her hus¬ 
band’s adoptive brother. She was first married to the young 
Caius Csesar, the son of Julia and Agrippa, and after his 
death she became the wife of Drusus, who was her own 
cousin. Granddaughter of Augustus by her first marriage, 
and his grandniece by the blood, through her mother An¬ 
tonia, who was the daughter of Augustus’s sister Octavia 
by Mark Antony, she seemed a most illustrious consort 
for the reigning Emperor’s only son. The pride and satis¬ 
faction of Tiberius in this union were heightened with the 
birth of twin boys to Livia; a matter of so much joy to 
the Emperor that he could not refrain from boasting “that 
to no Roman of the same eminence before him were ever 
two children born at a birth.” Upon which the historian 
Tacitus dryly remarks: “Thus to his own glory he turned 
all things, even mere accidents.” 
v'' The birth of the twins, who were called Caius and Tibe¬ 
rius Nero (afterwards commonly referred to as Tiberius 
Gemellus), was followed by that of a daughter, named 
Julia. Caius died in infancy. 

[ 56 ] 


THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

At the time of the birth of these children Germanicus 
was still living, and in order to a just understanding of 
the tragedy that was impending, his character and the 
relationship which he bore to public events must be first 
considered. 

The ancestry of Germanicus was illustrious. His father, 
Drusus, was the only brother of the Emperor Tiberius, i/ 
while his mother, the younger Antonia, greatly celebrated, \s 
as Plutarch tells us, for her beauty and virtue, was the 
daughter of one of the noblest Roman matrons, the beau¬ 
tiful Octavia, the sister of Augustus. Octavia’s husband was 
Mark Antony, who was thus the grandfather of Germani¬ 
cus. Germanicus was also the adoptive son of Tiberius, to 
whose son also his sister Livia was married. Germanicus 
himself had married Agrippina, one of the children of 1/ 
Agrippa and Julia; so that his offspring were the great¬ 
grandchildren of Augustus. Moreover, his adoption into 
the family of the reigning Caesar was known to have pro¬ 
ceeded from the will of the divine Augustus himself. His 
relationship to the throne, therefore, alike by blood, af¬ 
finity, and imperial favor, was of the highest and closest. 
And finally, Germanicus was a man of the most elevated 
character, of a handsome person, high courage, eloquent 
and gifted in various branches of learning, while at the 
same time blessed with an unassuming disposition and a 
remarkable sweetness of manners; in short, as one historian 
declares, it seems to have been generally agreed that he 
“possessed all the noblest endowments of body and mind 
in a higher degree than had ever before fallen to the lot 
of any man.” In the midst of all the abandoned wicked¬ 
ness and horrible nightmares to which Roman life was 
given up in the times of the Caesars, when virtue had been 
trampled in the mud, when sensuality had been deified, 

[ 57 ] 




THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

when honor and truth and love and all the finer emotions 
of the soul had given way to a consuming lust for power 
and the gratification of brutal instincts; after wading 
through page after page of the most sickening and hor¬ 
rible recitals, what a relief to come upon this simple little 
tribute to virtue, in the words of the historian, that “ Ger- 
manicus reaped the fruit of his noble qualities in abundance , 
being much esteemed and beloved by his friends." And so 
virtue was not yet entirely dead—not even in besotted 
Rome. The great poet, to whom the house of Caesar fur¬ 
nished the theme for one of the most wonderful of his im¬ 
mortal creations, in this picture of Germanicus might well 
have found his inspiration for the line, 

“So shines a good deed in a naughty world!" 

But however high the claims of Germanicus, and how¬ 
ever great his popularity with the people, there was not 
wanting a support to the pretensions of Drusus, who of 
course had the countenance of the Emperor himself and 
of his grandmother, the indomitable Livia. So that Rome 
was divided in its affections: a large part of the Court, in¬ 
cluding the most sordid and venal patricians, declared for 
Drusus, the Emperors own son; while others of the nobles 
and practically all of the people (the influence of the lat¬ 
ter, however, counting for comparatively nothing) were for 
Germanicus. Of course there were not wanting those who 
sought to enlist Drusus in his own interest and against 
Germanicus; but to the lasting honor of the former be it 
said that he would not listen to the suggestion. The har¬ 
monious relations of the brothers were unbroken, and after 
the death of Germanicus his children continued to receive 
especial kindness from Drusus. 

But if Drusus was too high minded to act against Ger- 
[ 58 ] 



TIBERIUS 


X 





THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

manicus, there were others not so scrupulous, and indeed 
how would it have been possible for a man of his un¬ 
doubted virtue to have escaped ? Disturbances having 
arisen in the East, Germanic us was sent to Syria, to 
regulate its affairs. Tiberius at the same time appointed 
a new governor of the province in the person of Cneius 
Piso, whose wife, Plancina, secretly instigated by Li via Au¬ 
gusta, had been for some time engaged in a mean perse¬ 
cution of Germanicus’s wife, Agrippina. That Piso actually 
had authority from the Emperor to destroy Germani- 
cus must be considered not proven. But his subsequent 
conduct demonstrates beyond a doubt that he at least 
supposed that Tiberius had appointed him to the com¬ 
mand in Syria expressly to defeat the views of Germani- 
cus. Urged on as well by his wife as by his own unscru¬ 
pulous ambition, he opposed Germanicus at every turn, 
and finally succeeded in administering to him a slow 
poison from which the nephew of the Emperor finally 
died—before his death explicitly accusing Piso of being 
his murderer. 

The grief and consternation of both Rome and the prov¬ 
inces passes description — Piso and Plancina alone, of all 
the world, openly exhibiting an indecent joy; although, of 
course, there were others who exulted in secret. At Rome, 
when the news arrived, stones were hurled at the tem¬ 
ples, the altars of some of the gods demolished and the 
Lares and Penates thrown into the streets. Germanicus 
had been the hero and the hope of the great body of the 
Roman people, whose mourning was so genuine that even 
the special edicts passed for that purpose could not re¬ 
strain it. And while all history unites in according to 
Germanicus a virtue which shone with a brilliant and soli¬ 
tary lustre in those times of public oppression and private 
C 59 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

immorality, perhaps the finest tribute to his character was 
the universal belief that awe of him had laid a veritable 
restraint upon the cruelty of Tiberius, which broke out 
soon after his death; so that, as an ancient writer says, 
“ The atrocities of the subsequent times contributed much to 
the glory of GermanicusT 

Of all crimes—especially in ancient times—that of 
poisoning has been the most difficult of proof. But while 
the student of historical truth must in this case acknowl¬ 
edge the question to be involved in obscurity and doubt, 
the general verdict has been that Germanicus was poisoned 
by Piso, under instructions from Livia, to which Tiberius 
was at least accessory. Rome certainly had no doubt upon 
this question. Piso and his wife, upon their return from 
Syria, were charged with the crime; and while the trial 
was in progress, the judges heard from without the cries 
of the people that “if Piso escaped the judgment of the 
Senate they would not keep their hands off him.” He es¬ 
caped only by taking his own life before judgment was pro¬ 
nounced; while Plancina, saved for the time through the 
influence of Livia Augusta, was thereafter again prose¬ 
cuted for the crime, and “inflicted upon herself a punish¬ 
ment more tardy than unmerited.” 

Germanicus married his second cousin, Agrippina, the 
daughter of Marcus Agrippa and Julia, daughter of Augus¬ 
tus. While all of the writers, ancient and modern, seem to 
agree that nine children were born to Germanicus and his 
wife, it is quite possible that the actual number was ten. 
The history of the three daughters who are known to have 
survived their father is well traced. Three sons also sur¬ 
vived, while a fourth, a sprightly boy whose effigy, in the 
character of Cupid, Livia set up in the temple of Venus, 
died in early childhood. The remaining two children are 
[ 60 ] 


THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

said to have died in infancy; whereas Quintilius Varus 
(son of that Varus who perished so miserably with his 
three legions in Germany) is stated upon good authority 
to have been a son-in-law of Germanicus. While the dis¬ 
crepancy may be accounted for as an error on the part of 
Suetonius in stating that two of the children died in in¬ 
fancy, it would still be strange that the wife of Varus, if so 
nearly related to the family of Caesar, has been untraced. 

Of the six children who are known to have survived 
Germanicus—Nero, Drusus, and Caius Caesar (Caligula), 
Agrippina, Drusilla, and Julia (the latter having been born 
at the island of Lesbos while her parents were en route 
to the scene of the tragedy)—only one escaped a violent 
death. And for that one—Drusilla—it would have been 
better if she had been strangled at birth. The fortunes 
of these children and of their mother will be considered 
later on. 

With the death of Germanicus perished the last hope 
of virtue in the imperial family of Caesar. True, his niece */ 
Octavia and her brother Britannicus, children of the im¬ 
becile Emperor Claudius and the horrible Messalina, by 
some strange display of atavism, exhibited undoubted vir¬ 
tue amidst the scenes of corruption which finally engulfed 
them. But Britannicus died too young to furnish positive 
assurance that his character was founded in virtue; while 
his sister (Nero’s wife) was of too mild and gentle a dispo¬ 
sition to impress her goodness upon the Roman society 
of the first century. So that if Livia actually participated 
in the murder of her grandson, this last of her crimes was 
the final death-blow to her husband’s family. Certainly the 
furies were now loosed, and from this time on domestic 
murder by poison, dagger, and drowning was the almost 
certain fate of every Caesar, by blood or by affinity. 

[ 61 ] 


THE HOUSE OF (LESAR 

Early in his accession to power, Tiberius had chosen for 
commander of the praetorian guards an artful and adroit 
and at the same time bold and daring knight named iElius 
Sejanus. This man had skilfully enlarged the power of his 
office, until then quite moderate, by gathering into one 
camp the cohorts of the guard, which hitherto had been 
scattered throughout the city. From this time the military 
power may be said to have controlled in determining the 
succession. Sejanus was as unscrupulous as he was shrewd 
and ambitious, and with the first taste of power and influ¬ 
ence, he began to entertain the most daring projects, which 
aimed at nothing less than to secure the throne. With 
the army behind him—the good will of the soldiers having 
been gained through his undoubted courage coupled with 
both tact and dissimulation and supplemented by bribery 
and corruption, where the rest failed—the members of the 
imperial family were the only obstacles to his ambition. 
To be sure, their number was large; besides the son and 
grandson of Tiberius there were the descendants of the 
Emperor’s brother Drusus, including the three sons of 
Germanicus. But to Sejanus this meant simply the neces¬ 
sity of protracted killing, instead of the wholesale murder 
which would have attracted attention, although simpler 
and more to his mind. 

He began in a way which can be characterized only as 
devilish. The first person to be removed was the Emperor’s 
son Drusus, against whom Sejanus cherished a bitter per¬ 
sonal resentment on account of a blow which he had re¬ 
ceived from the haughty prince during a dispute between 
them. Livia, the wife of Drusus, is said to have been very 
beautiful, and Sejanus, pretending to be overcome by her 
attractions, seduced her, and when thus in his power, in¬ 
duced her to share in his scheme by promising to make 
[ 62 ] 


i 





TIBERIUS 


















THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 


her his Empress when he should have gained the throne. 
And thus, musingly remarks the annalist, “the niece of 
Augustus, the daughter-in-law of Tiberius, the mother of 
the children of Drusus, disgraced herself, her ancestors, 
and her posterity by a connection with an adulterer from 
a municipal town; exchanging an honorable certainty for 
guilty prospects which might never be realized .” 1 

The wife of Drusus was now fully launched upon her 
wicked career. Her physician was admitted into the plot, 
and Sejanus having first divorced his wife, who was the 
mother of three little children, and thus assured Livia that 
her lover would be at once available as a second husband, 
the latter was ready to despatch her first, and Drusus was 
poisoned. Suspicion was at the time entirely diverted from 
the murderers, who were discovered only after an interval 
of eight years by confession of Eudemus, the physician, 
and a slave of Sejanus. 

The death of Drusus awakened hopes among the friends 
of Germanicus, whose three sons, notwithstanding the fact 
that the two sons of Drusus were still living, were now 
commonly regarded as in the line of succession. Their 
mother, Agrippina, proud and haughty, but severe in her 
Roman virtue, had surrounded them with devoted friends 
and wise counsellors, and the conspirators found it impos¬ 
sible to dispose of them by the same means with which 
the death of Drusus had been accomplished. It was evi¬ 
dent that Agrippina must first be removed, and Sejanus 
having succeeded—easily, as we are quite ready to be¬ 
lieve-—in rousing the hatred of the old Augusta, the two 
Livias engaged to persuade the Emperor that “proud of 
her numerous offspring and relying upon the affections of 
the people, Agrippina had designs upon the sovereignty.” 


v/ 




/ 


1 Tacitus, Annals , iv. 3. 


[ 63 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 


J 

J 


J 

J 


V 


The Emperor was only too ready to listen. He had already 
shamefully mistreated the widow of Germanicus, who was 
at once his niece by marriage and the half-sister of his 
wife Vipsania—they having the same father, Agrippa, but 
different mothers. And now this noble and high-spirited 
Roman matron, granddaughter of the great Augustus, 
having been torn from her children and banished to the 
same island where her wicked mother was murdered and 
her depraved sister Julia also had died miserably in exile, 
and her two eldest sons having likewise succumbed to the 
imperial rage, after one of her eyes had been beaten out 
by a centurion deliberately starved herself to death. 

Claudia Pulchra, who is stated to have been a kins¬ 
woman of Agrippina , 1 and of whom the widow of Ger¬ 
manicus was extremely fond, for that very reason, appar¬ 
ently, became involved in the fate of her friend. Upon an 
accusation which plainly emanated from Tiberius himself, 
although voiced by Domitius Afer, the orator, she was 
convicted of witchcraft, spells against the Emperor, and 
other crimes, and put to death. But there is considerable 
uncertainty about the origin of Claudia, whose affinity 
with Agrippina, Lipsius has not been able to trace. She is 
called Agrippinas sobrina, cousin by the mother’s side; and 
Merivale suggests that she may have been descended from 
the Claudia to whom Augustus was originally affianced. 
This Claudia was a daughter of Mark Antony’s wife 
Fulvia by her former husband, Publius Claudius . 2 But if 
this supposition is correct, Claudia Pulchra and Agrippina 
could not have been kinswomen in the Julian line, as the 
first wife of Augustus was repudiated before consumma¬ 
tion of the marriage. The relationship was more probably 
on the side of Agrippina’s father, Drusus, who was of the 

1 Tacitus says cousin. Annals , iv. 52. 2 Ante, page 23, note. 

[ 64 ] 


THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

Claudian house on both sides (his mother being descended 
from Appius Pulcher). Some confirmation of this hy¬ 
pothesis may be found in the fact that Tacitus calls Pul- 
chra’s son a cousin of Tiberius , who, of course, was not of 
the blood of Cassar. Claudia Pulchra was the mother of the 
younger Varus, the husband of an untraced daughter of 
Germanicus and Agrippina; which may partly account 
for her friendship with Agrippina. Varus himself narrowly 
escaped death upon an accusation from the same sources 
which procured his mother’s condemnation . 1 

But the miserable fate of Agrippina was not unavenged. 
Livia Augusta, it is true, had died full of age and of 
honors. Not so Sejanus and his wretched accomplice. For 
some time after the death of Drusus their affairs seemed 
to prosper. Caius, one of the twins (children of Drusus 
and Livia), had died, and, strange to say, apparently with¬ 
out suspicion of violence. Next Sejanus, taking advantage 
of a momentary increase of favor by fortunately saving 
the Emperor from some threatened danger, succeeded in 
poisoning his master’s mind against the offspring of Ger¬ 
manicus, and especially against Nero, the eldest son. Nero 
had married his cousin Julia, the daughter of Drusus and 
Livia, who were also cousins german on the side of their 
fathers. In addition to this double relationship, Nero’s 
mother, Agrippina, was the half-sister of Julia’s grand¬ 
mother, Vipsania Agrippina. But with the Caesars neither 
marriage nor the closest ties of consanguinity counted for 
much, where in the race for power, or even in the grati¬ 
fication of any selfish ambition, the life of a human being 
was in the way. Julia was soon drawn into the plot against 
her husband and induced to divulge to her mother, Livia, 
certain dreams which had been confided to her by Nero, 




1/ 


j/ 


j 


1 Annals , iv. 66. 


[ 65 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

and various things which he had said—or which she pre¬ 
tended he had said—in his sleep. These were repeated to 
the Emperor by Sejanus, with dark insinuations of the 
crimes which Nero had in contemplation. The unscrupu¬ 
lous favorite also succeeded in drawing into the combi¬ 
nation Nero’s brother Drusus, by tempting him with the 
prospect of empire if his elder brother could be first re¬ 
moved. Everything thus progressing well and Caesar’s favor 
having been especially manifested by his consent to the 
betrothal of the daughter of Sejanus with a son of the 
Emperor’s nephew Claudius, the brother of Germanicus 
and Livia, the latter now importuned Sejanus to request 
the Emperor’s consent to their marriage. 

Sejanus was intoxicated with exeess of fortune. His 
power had increased to such an extent that there remained 
scarcely any access to honors except through his favor. 
Only this last coup remained to ensure him the succession, 
when his meditated removal of the children of Gemanicus 
should be accomplished. He had received the most con¬ 
vincing proof of the Emperor’s favor and now confidently 
presented to him a memorial, begging for himself the 
honor of an alliance with the widowed Livia. 

But he had presumed too far upon the complacency of 
Caesar. While the refusal of Tiberius was cautiously ex¬ 
pressed, he nevertheless made it plain to Sejanus that the 
time had gone by when the hand of a daughter of the 
Caesars might be aspired to by a mere Roman knight. 
Moreover, the Emperor used certain expressions which 
filled Sejanus with actual alarm for the ultimate success 
of his projects upon the lines which he was then follow¬ 
ing, and it became necessary to immediately rearrange his 
plans. The marriage with Livia was abandoned as at once 
impossible and unnecessary, and after strengthening his 
[ 66 ] 



DRUSUS SON OF TIBERIUS 
















THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

influence with the army, Sejanus used all of his persuasion 
to induce the Emperor to withdraw from Rome to Capri, 
in the Bay of Naples, access to which could be readily 
guarded by a military force. Tiberius, who, at this period 
of his career at least, knew no enjoyment except that of 
sensual pleasure, was easily persuaded to a course which 
promised unlicensed abandonment to the cruelties and dis¬ 
solute pleasures which might have been attended with per¬ 
sonal danger in Rome, corrupt and slavish as the capital 
had become; and Sejanus now began openly to exercise 
the actual powers of sovereignty. But his increasing ar¬ 
rogance at last roused the fear and suspicion of his be¬ 
sotted master, whose eyes seem to have been opened to 
the conduct of his favorite by Antonia, the aged mother 
of Germanicus. And so, in the mercy of Providence, this 
monster of iniquity, at the very moment of his anticipated 
triumph, was charged by Tiberius with conspiracy, and 
the Senate, ever ready to obey, condemned him to death 
with alacrity. He was strangled in prison and his body 
dragged to the Tiber, his friends put to death under cruel 
tortures, and finally his innocent little children likewise 
murdered under circumstances of the most horrible and 
unnamable atrocity. Their mother—the divorced Apicata 
—committed suicide upon hearing of the murder of her 
children. It was a rare position—that of imperial favorite 
in the days of the Caesars. 

For Livia, his wretched accomplice, there remained 
nothing but to drink to its dregs the cup of bitterness 
which she herself had filled. Ten short years before, ex¬ 
cepting only the Augusta herself, she had been the first 
lady in the greatest city of the world. The great-grand¬ 
daughter of the divine Augustus, sister of the idolized 
Germanicus, wife of the Emperor’s only son, Drusus, the 

[ 67 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

sole heir to the throne, and mother of two sons in the direct 
line of succession, beautiful, accomplished, and powerful 
—she had scattered everything to the winds in yielding to 
the basest impulses. And now her husband and one son 
dead and her noble brother and his family destroyed in¬ 
directly through her means, she herself was cast off upon 
a sea of wretchedness which had no bounds. The missing 
chapters of the “Annals” leave us in darkness as to the de¬ 
tails of these last years of her life. But after the death of 
Sejanus, in the year 31 a. d., his former wife, Apicata, re¬ 
vealed his murder of the Emperor s son Drusus; and upon 
the disclosure of Livia’s complicity in the crime, she was 
put to death by her father-in-law, who caused the most 
rigorous decrees to be passed against even her statues 
and memory. 

With the death of his son, the last link which bound 
the Emperor to the semblance of family affection appears 
to have been broken. He seemed little concerned during 
the illness of Drusus and not much affected at his death. 
One of his grandsons, Caius, had died; the other, Tibe¬ 
rius, was hated as having been conceived in adultery—so 
the Emperor maliciously declared, but without apparent 
foundation. The two eldest sons of Germanicus, Nero and 
Drusus, he had commended to the Senate with the remark 
that the good and evil which should befall them—the 
great-grandsons of Augustus—must extend to the com¬ 
monwealth. And forthwith he himself proceeded to bring 
down upon the hapless young men evil without measure. 
After the banishment of their mother, Agrippina, Nero 
and Drusus were themselves condemned, fettered with 
chains, and cast into prison. In his youth Nero, who seems 
to have inherited some of the gracefulness and modesty of 
his father, had been especially favored by the Emperor. He 
[ 68 ] 


THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

was now charged by Tiberius with the most abominable 
crimes, banished to the island of Ponza, and there vanished 
into darkness. His brother Drusus was thrown into one of 
the horrible dungeons of the Palatine, that crime-saturated 
palace of the Cassars, where, at the expiration of three 
years, he was starved to death. In the agonies of hunger 
he even ate the chaff with which his mattress was stuffed, 
and Tacitus affirms that in this way he protracted his 
existence until the ninth day. The centurion in charge 
afterwards related that when his last hopes had fled, the 
wretched young prince poured forth the most frenzied 
imprecation upon his great-uncle; declaring that “as he 
had slaughtered his son’s wife, the son of his brother, and 
his son’s sons, and filled his whole house with carnage, so 
might he pay to the uttermost the penalty of his crimes, 
in justice of his name, the generations of his forefathers, 
and posterity.” It is almost beyond belief that the Em¬ 
peror caused this report of Actius to be read publicly to 
the senators, who interrupted the reading with exclama¬ 
tions of assumed horror at these imprecations. 

Drusus married ^Emilia Lepida, an own cousin of the 
^Emilia Lepida who was the first wife of Drusus’s uncle 
Claudius. 1 After the destruction of her husband, she too 
seems to have been put to death, 2 with the approval, if 
not under the direct orders, of Tiberius. Neither Drusus 
nor his brother Nero left any children. 

The death of the Emperor’s mother, Livia Augusta 

1 Post , page 104. This ^Emilia Lepida was the daughter of M. A^milius 
Lepidus, a younger brother of Lucius ^Emilius Paulus, who married Julia, 
the granddaughter of Augustus. Ante , page 39. 

2 This is upon the authority of Tacitus ( Annals , vi. 40). But the reference 
is a trifle obscure, and a modern writer states that this Lepida died during 
the reign of Claudius. See post , page 107, as to the difficulty of tracing 
through the female line, owing to the absence of prcenomina among women. 

[ 69 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CzESAR 

(29 a. d.), had preceded that of her great-grandson Nero, 
and the death of Drusus was almost immediately followed 
by the coerced suicide of Agrippina, the mother of the 
young princes. Tiberius did not even attend the funeral 
of his mother—excusing himself therefor to the Senate 
upon the ground of pressure of business. In the case of 
Agrippina, whose death he had accomplished, the Em¬ 
peror still further demeaned himself by uttering the most 
shameful slanders against her, and reminded the Senate 
that she had died on the second anniversary of the death 
of the traitor Sejanus, which fact he declared ought to be 
recorded; whereupon the servile Senate decreed that on 
that day a yearly offering should be presented to Jupiter 
forever. 

From now on the Emperor abandoned himself to every 
species of cruelty. The astrologer Thrasyllus, who had great 
influence over him, restrained him for a time by the argu¬ 
ment that his life would be prolonged by deferring some 
of his meditated acts of vengeance against members of his 
family especially. In this way the remaining children of 
Germanicus, his own son Tiberius, and his daughter Julia 
and her descendants (she had married again) escaped for 
the time. It would probably not have been for long, how¬ 
ever, had not tardy death at last overtaken him, this father 
who used to exclaim, “Happy Priam, who survived all his 
children!” 

But the Parcae had decreed that by the hand of Caesar 
Caesar should die, and the death of Tiberius opened no 
escape to the descendants who survived him. His only 
surviving grandson, Tiberius Gemellus, received a tardy 
show of justice from the Emperor, who named him with 
Caius Caesar (Caligula) as the imperial heirs. After his 
grandfather’s death Gemellus was arrested and accused 
[ 70 ] 



TIBERIUS GEMELLUS 


i 





THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 

of having expressed the hope that the Emperor would not 
recover from his illness. There was no meeting this accusa¬ 
tion and Caligula sent word to his cousin to kill himself. 
Tiberius, who is said to have been a mild and gentle youth, 
who had never seen a man killed, begged the soldiers to 
themselves put him to death, and upon their refusal asked 
them at least to show him where and how to strike. With 
this request the centurion graciously complied, giving 
him a sword and indicating where his heart was. Thank¬ 
ing the rough soldier, the poor boy stabbed himself and 
perished instantly. 

Julia, the remaining grandchild of Tiberius, after the 
murder of her husband Nero, married Rubellius Blandus, 
the grandson of a Roman knight from Tibur. Julia sur¬ 
vived until the next reign but one, when she and her 
cousin of the same name (a daughter of Germanicus) were 
put to death by their uncle, the Emperor Claudius, 1 who 
was instigated to the murder by the horrible Messalina. 
By her marriage with Blandus, Julia had a son, Rubellius 
Plautus. This young nobleman seems to have been of 
blameless character and of a sober and retiring disposition. 
Such characteristics in the person of a Caesar were sure 
guaranties of a violent death. Instigated by the monster 
Tigellinus, and alarmed as well by the popular praise of 
Plautus, whose fame only resounded the more with his 
attempts to withdraw himself from popular notice and the 
dangers of public life, Nero, who was then Emperor, noti¬ 
fied Plautus that he would best “retire from Rome, and 
in Asia, where he had possessions, end his days in peace 
and quiet.” This was merely one of the forms of family 
death-warrant, but Plautus gladly left Rome in company 
with his wife and a few devoted friends. One day he re- 

1 Post , page 111. 


THE HOUSE OF CESAR 

ceived a message from his father-in-law that a centurion 
was on the way to kill him and that “if he would im¬ 
mediately escape, out of the compassion that would be 
felt for a name so great he would find good men ready 
to espouse his cause.” But Plautus was unmoved. The 
assassins found him in the middle of the day naked and 
engaged in corporeal work upon his estate. He was im¬ 
mediately butchered and his head carried to the tyrant 
at Rome. 

Plautus had married Antistia, daughter of Lucius An- 
tistius Vetus, by whom he is said to have had several 
children, whose lives, however, are untraced. It would be 
strange if anything but death in infancy saved them from 
the fate of Nero’s mad determination to extirpate the 
house of Ceesar, root and branch. In his frantic search for 
victims even relations by marriage only did not escape, 
and both Antistia and her father Vetus were put to death 
under circumstances of great cruelty . 1 

But long before this final extinction of his race the last 
page of the life of Tiberius had been turned. It presents 
a fitting conclusion of a series of horrible chapters. Worn 
out by his own atrocious crimes and revolting depravity, 
his body wasted and his strength exhausted, he retired 
to a villa which had once been occupied by Lucullus, at 
the promontory of Misenum, having previously in his ex¬ 
treme misery addressed to the Senate a letter which be¬ 
gan, “What to write to you, Conscript Fathers, or how to 
write, or what not to write at this time, may all the gods 
and goddesses pour upon my head a more terrible ven¬ 
geance than that under which I feel myself daily sinking, 
if I can tell.” The pages of history may be searched in vain 
for a more agonizing confession that Nemesis had clutched 
1 Post, page 159- 


[ 72 ] 


THE FAMILY OF TIBERIUS 
her victim at last. The end came speedily. In the midst of 
one of the entertainments with which the dying tyrant yet 
sought by sensual enjoyment to distract his sufferings, his 
physician Charicles, touching the Emperor’s hand under 
pretence of taking his leave, felt his pulse and immedi¬ 
ately reported to Macro, captain of the guards, that life 
was ebbing fast and could not last two days. Caius Caesar 
was at once informed and expresses also sent to the army. 
The former, surrounded by a great congratulatory throng, 
was already setting out to enter upon the sovereignty 
when another message came to the effect that the Em¬ 
peror had revived and called for food. But Macro, the 
Emperor’s best friend and, since the death of Sejanus, 
the choicest instrument of his villainous cruelties, who 
aspired to a similar position under the new reign which 
was already inaugurated through the reports of his mas¬ 
ter’s death—was he called upon to submit to such an 
unwarranted interference on the part of nature with the 
will of the Fates? Calmly he gave commands to pile the 
pillows and bed-clothes upon the dying Caesar’s face, until 
life should be extinguished. Thus died the Emperor Tibe¬ 
rius, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and the twenty- 
third of his reign, on the seventeenth before the Calends 
of April, 37 a. d. The news of his undoubted death was 
received at Rome with demonstrations of the wildest joy, 
and the city rang with shouts of “Down with his body to 
the Tiber!” 


[ 73 ] 


CHAPTER VI 

CALIGULA, THE THIRD EMPEROR 
From 37 A. D. to 41 A. D. 

W HILE succession to the imperial power was not 
regulated by law, on the part of the Caesars them¬ 
selves, at least, it was plainly intended that it should be 
determined by lineal descent. To be sure, the Emperor 
was said to be elected by “the authority of the Senate 
and the consent of the soldiers”; which seems to have been 
the constitutional language at least down to the time of 
the fifth Emperor. 1 And from the very beginning, as al¬ 
ready observed, the support of the army was almost a sine 
qua non to the assumption of the purple by any candi¬ 
date. In the selection of its chief ruler the destinies of the 
Empire may be said to have been ruled by the praetorian 
guard. But with this qualification: until after the death of 
Nero the voice of the reigning Caesar was felt to be all- 
powerful upon the question of his successor; either when 
spoken in life, through the instrumentality of a formal 
adoption, or declared and published in a last will and 
testament. For example, it will be remembered that the 
Emperor Augustus, having in his lifetime adopted both 
Tiberius and Postumus Agrippa, in his will named the 
former as his chief heir and thus enabled him, although a 
stranger to the blood, to secure the throne to the exclu¬ 
sion of the Emperor’s own grandson, who under the will 
was an heir in remainder only. 

Tiberius, it is said, had been greatly puzzled in the se¬ 
lection of his successor. The son of Drusus was still only a 

1 Tacitus, Annals, xiii. 4. 


[ 74 ] 



DRUSUS BROTHER OF TIBERIUS 


I 







CALIGULA 

child, and besides was an object of hatred to his grand¬ 
father. 1 Claudius, the brother of Germanicus, was thought 
to be mentally deficient; while Caius Caesar (or Caligula 
as he was called), the son of Germanicus, was disliked by 
the Emperor simply because he had gained the favor of 
the people. On the other hand, he was unwilling to select 
a successor from outside of his family lest the name of 
Caesar should fall from its eminence. He finally resolved 
that fortune should decide the question, and made a will 
constituting Tiberius Gemellus and Caligula his joint heirs 
and successors. But there can be no doubt that he knew 
full well what the result would be. Once when both were 
present he said to Caligula, “Thou shalt slay him and an¬ 
other shall slay thee.” On another occasion, while com¬ 
menting upon the natural cruelty and depravity which 
even as a youth Caligula was unable to conceal, the Em¬ 
peror declared that Caius was “destined to be the ruin 
of himself and all mankind”; and that he (Tiberius) was 
“rearing a hydra for the people of Rome, and a Phaeton 
for all the world.” Some historians have not scrupled to 
declare that it was on account of the vicious disposition 
of Caius that he was chosen by the Emperor to succeed 
him, so that after his own death a comparison might be 
made in favor of his memory when the Romans should 
be governed by a ruler yet more cruel and tyrannical than 
himself. 

Upon the death of Tiberius, Caligula set out for Rome, 
and between the universal hatred of the deceased Em¬ 
peror and the universal joy that a son of Germanicus was 
actually to sit upon the throne, his journey from Misenum 
was one long passage between altars, victims, lighted 
torches, and prodigious crowds of people, the latter trans- 

1 Ante, page 68. 


[ 75 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

ported with delight upon this realization of the wish of 
the whole Roman world. 

Upon his arrival in Rome, Caligula assumed the entire 
sovereignty, the will of the late Emperor being set aside 
by the unanimous vote of the Senate, amidst the accla¬ 
mations of the people. Then followed the death of the un¬ 
fortunate Gemellus, which has already been related, 1 and 
Caligula was established in undisputed possession of the 
throne. Like that of Tiberius, his reign had commenced 
with the murder of his predecessor’s grandson, and it was 
not long before the tyranny of Tiberius was forgotten in 
the enormities of Caligula. 

Caius Caesar was born the day preceding the Calends of 
September (August 31), 13 a. d. The place of his birth is 
uncertain, but it seems to have been while his mother was 
with the army. His early life in military camps bore him 
the nickname of Caligula , which is derived from the word 
Caliga , meaning “army boots.” He was the third son of 
Germanicus and Agrippina, the granddaughter of Augus¬ 
tus, and thus through his mother he was more closely 
related to the family of the Csesars than his father Ger¬ 
manicus, who was of the imperial blood only through 
his mother Antonia, the niece of Augustus. Through his 
grandfather, Drusus, the father of Germanicus, Caligula 
traced his descent to the noble Claudian family. This 
Drusus was the brother of the Emperor Tiberius, and al¬ 
though at the time of his birth his mother Livia was the 
wife of Augustus, Tiberius Nero was his father. After Au¬ 
gustus was established in full possession of the Empire, 
Drusus was commissioned to extend the Roman con¬ 
quests into the heart of Germany and if possible to ad¬ 
vance the frontier from the Rhine to the Elbe. The foun- 
1 Ante, page 71. 


[ 76 ] 



ANTONIA MOTHER OF GEItMANICUS 


J 








CALIGULA 

dations of many important cities now existing along the 
Rhine were the Roman fortresses established in this war 
by Drusus, who seems to have possessed unusual military 
genius. He met an untimely death in Germany, where he 
had been joined by Tiberius, the latter travelling on foot 
ahead of his brother’s body all the way to Rome, where 
the dead prince was accorded a magnificent funeral, re¬ 
ceiving the most extravagant honors at the hands of 
Augustus. The Senate, amongst various other honors, had 
in his lifetime conferred the cognomen of Germanicus 
upon him and his posterity. The memory of Drusus had 
always been revered by the Roman people, who cherished 
a strong persuasion that if his life had been spared, he 
would have restored liberty. How much of this was justi¬ 
fied by his character, and how much is to be accounted 
for by hero-worship, is uncertain; but the fact undoubtedly 
accounts in no small measure for the extravagant hopes 
which were founded on the accession to power of his 
grandson Caligula. 

But the character of Drusus and his beautiful wife An¬ 
tonia, the grandparents of Caligula, the almost godlike 
virtues attributed to his father Germanicus, and the un¬ 
selfish devotion and signal chastity (rare virtues, in those 
days, among the women of Rome) of his lion-hearted 
mother Agrippina, seem to have made no impress upon 
the nature of the third Emperor, who, starting as a sly, 
cruel, and vicious boy, developed into a perfect devil in¬ 
carnate and ended as a veritable madman. 

After his father’s death in Syria 1 he returned to Rome 
with the widowed Agrippina, with whom he resided until 
her exile. Upon the imprisonment of his brothers Nero 
and Drusus he was removed to the house of his great- 
1 Ante, page 59. 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

grandmother, Livia Augusta, with whom he lived until 
her death, and whose funeral oration he delivered in pub¬ 
lic before he had donned the toga virilis. After the death 
of the Augusta he lived with his grandmother Antonia, 
until, when about twenty years of age, he was summoned 
by the old Emperor to join him at Capri and there re¬ 
mained until the death of Tiberius—to which he was 
undoubtedly an accessory. 

From the time of his mother’s exile and the imprison¬ 
ment of his brothers, he seems to have borne himself 
with the greatest circumspection, manifesting no concern 
for their sufferings and displaying no feeling whatever 
upon their death. In this way he escaped the fate of his 
brothers, and with the death of Sejanus he began to cherish 
hopes of succeeding Tiberius in the Empire. He at once 
commenced to insinuate himself into the graces of Macro, 
the praetorian prefect, by making a mistress of the latter’s 
wife, whom he engaged by an oath in writing to marry 
when he should become Emperor. Nothing now remained 
to be accomplished but the death of Tiberius, and that in 
the course of nature must be close at hand. But the gods 
were a bit tardy towards the end, and in order not to dis¬ 
appoint too long an expectant world, it became necessary 
to expedite matters in the way which Tiberius himself 
had taught. To this Caligula had no more objection than 
he had manifested when the lives of his mother and bro¬ 
thers were in the balance. Tiberius was murdered; and 
then, the Senate having been convened for the purpose of 
setting aside the late Emperor’s will, Caius Caesar was 
immediately declared Imperator, and the Roman world 
went mad over the priceless blessings vouchsafed by the 
immortal gods. 

The Emperor Caligula was tall and ill shaped. He had 

[ 78 ] 


CALIGULA 

a large head scantily covered with hair, a broad forehead 
hollowed at the temples, with strongly knit brows and 
deep-set eyes. He was incapable of enduring fatigue, fre¬ 
quently yielding to a species of faintness which rendered 
him practically helpless for hours at a time. Both his con¬ 
stitutional weakness of body and the mental disorder from 
which he plainly suffered (of which latter he himself seems 
not to have been unconscious 1 ) were greatly aggravated 
by his continued inability to sleep more than three or four 
hours at a time. Even such sleep as he had was broken 
and frequently disturbed by distressing dreams; so that in 
sheer despair he sometimes passed almost the entire night 
walking about the palace and longing for the approach 
of day. 

Notwithstanding his bodily weakness, he was fond of 
certain kinds of athletics, especially fencing and charioteer¬ 
ing. He was constant in practising the former, and fre¬ 
quently drove his chariot in the various circuses. Like Nero, 
he was also extremely fond of singing and acting, and 
by occasionally joining in the singing of the tragedians 
and imitating the gestures of the actors during a per¬ 
formance at the theatre, set an example which the ‘‘divine 
artist” who followed him carried to an extreme by himself 
actually performing on the public stage. 2 

While it may perhaps be a question whether Caligula or 
Nero dishonored humanity the most, it is difficult in the 
annals of Roman history—or, for that matter, in the his¬ 
tory of any so-called civilized people—to discover a ruler 
who displayed such a savage barbarity of temper as was 
manifested by Caligula. Of all forms of wickedness, delib¬ 
erate and cold-blooded cruelty is the most unerring sign 

1 He frequently thought of retiring from Rome to "clear his mind.” 

2 Post, page 134. 


[ 7$ 1 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

of an indwelling devil; and judging from this indication, 
if ever there were an instance where temporary reincarna¬ 
tion has been permitted a disembodied evil spirit, the fact 
exists in the case of Caius Caesar. It is absolutely impos¬ 
sible to account for his ferocious deeds upon any other 
theory than that he had ultimately degenerated into a 
raging madman. The cold cruelty of Tiberius, the imbe¬ 
cile murderings of Claudius, and the revengeful wicked¬ 
ness of Nero pale into insignificance when compared 
with the malignant ferocity which marked the crimes of 
Caligula. Nero imitated, Commodus emulated, but neither 
equalled the son of the heroic Germanicus and the proudly 
virtuous Agrippina, who occupies a class by himself in the 
domain of monstrous cruelty. 

In the devices of profuse expenditure, we are told that 
Caligula surpassed all the prodigals who ever lived. The 
dishes in the preparation of which rare and costly pearls 
were dissolved, the decks of vessels blazing with jewels, 
the squandering of enormous sums in defying all reason 
by attempting, in his architecture, to accomplish the con- 
cededly impossible, the broadcast scattering of gold from 
the top of the Basilica during successive days—in these 
and a thousand ways equally wild and extravagant he 
sought to illustrate his favorite remark that a “man ought 
to be a good economist—or an emperor.” Suetonius de¬ 
clares that in less than a year Caligula dissipated the entire 
treasure which had been amassed by Tiberius, amount¬ 
ing to two thousand seven hundred millions of sesterces 
(£27,000,000); and that after exhausting this immense 
sum he replenished his coffers by a course of the most 
unheard-of taxation and the most flagrant robbery and 
confiscation which the Roman world had ever known. 

In the broad display of the Emperor Caligula’s evil do- 

[ 80 ] 



ANTONIA MOTHER OF GERMANICUS 

















CALIGULA 


mg, there yet crops out an occasional vein of absurdity, 
which, however, is doubtless more discernible to an amazed 
posterity than it was appreciated by the Romans of that 
day. Not content with the exalted titles of his imperial 
predecessors, he assumed the additional ones of “The 
Pious,” “ The Dutiful ,” and “ The Greatest and Best Cce- 
sar”; and being finally convinced that he far exceeded all 
other reigning sovereigns in grandeur and moral attributes 
as well, he seriously assumed divine functions, and stand¬ 
ing between the statues of Castor and Pollux, which flanked 
the Forum entrance to the palace, he presented himself 
to be worshipped by the people, who gravely saluted him 
as Jupiter Latialis! Then followed the erection of a temple 
in honor of his divinity, containing a statue of gold, the 
exact image of himself, which was daily clothed to corre¬ 
spond with the garments which he wore. 

In the days which immediately followed his theft of the 
imperial power, this grotesque and horrible masquerader, 
in the garb of Tete d'Etat, actually seems to have accom¬ 
plished, or rather permitted the accomplishment of, some 
random acts of government; notably an attempt to re¬ 
store to the people their ancient right of participating in 
the choice of magistrates, of which they had been deprived 
by Tiberius. But after the most careful and unbiassed 
study of his four years’ reign, the one thought in regard 
to the history of Caligula which more than any other im¬ 
presses itself upon us will always be, how utterly debased, 
disgraced, and degraded the people of Rome must have 
been to permit this frantic madman to live and rule over 
them for more than a single day. 


[ 81 ] 


CHAPTER VII 
THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 


HE marriages of Caligula constituted the most fla- 



A gitious of the imperial offences against the purity 
and virtue, and the decency, even, of the family relation. 
Within a period of not more than six years he was mar¬ 
ried five times, and in each case except the first under cir¬ 
cumstances of extreme depravity. “Whether in the mar¬ 
riage of his wives, in repudiating them or retaining them, 
he acted with greater infamy,” says an ancient writer, “it 
is difficult to say.” The effect of such an example upon 
Roman society was woful in the extreme. It was not an 
extravagant use of language on the part of a late English 
historian who remarked that during the reign of Calig¬ 
ula the licentiousness of the palace spread itself rapidly 
through his dominions, “contaminating whatever remained 
of the chastity of Roman women, or the honor of Roman 
families.” 

Shortly after taking up his residence with Tiberius at 
Capri, Caligula, then about twenty-two years of age, was 
married by the Emperor to Junia Claudia, the daughter 
of Marcus Silanus. Silanus was a man of illustrious de¬ 
scent, although for some time the family had been under 
a cloud on account of Decius Silanus, who had been one 
of the corrupters of the misguided Julia, granddaughter of 
Augustus, for which offence he had been banished by the 
first Emperor. Through the influence of his brother Mar¬ 
cus, who was preeminently distinguished for his eloquence, 
Decius had been allowed to return to Rome during the 
reign of Tiberius; the Emperor in granting consent, how- 


[ 82 ] 



GERMANICUS 



i 








THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 

ever, declaring that he cherished all the resentment of 
Augustus against the offending young patrician, who was 
never afterwards allowed to attain honors or preference of 
any sort in the State. The incident is worthy of notice as 
illustrating the severe workings of the Lex Julia, 1 when 
once invoked, even among a race the most abandoned in 
its attitude towards the sanctity of the marital relation, 
and at the instance of a ruler who was himself the most 
brazen offender against the same. 

The married life of Caligula and his first wife continued 
for nearly three years. Shortly before her husband became 
Emperor, Claudia died and thus happily escaped from un¬ 
known, although none the less certain, misery. Her sister, 
Junia Silana, who was the unfortunate wife of Caius Silius, 
the wretched consort of Messalina, after a life of misery 
and disgrace, for which the sins of others were largely re¬ 
sponsible, managed to die a natural death at Tarentum. 2 

The father of Claudia and Silana, a virtuous old man, 
was the second victim to the Emperor’s cruelty after his 
seizure of the throne, the death of Silanus following closely 
after that of Tiberius Gemellus. 3 He was charged with a 
treasonable design against the Emperor, based upon his 
refusal to accompany the Court on a sailing excursion ; the 
pretence being that he had remained at home to perfect 
his conspiracy. The fact was that the old man had declined 
to go merely from fear of sea-sickness and excused himself 
on this ground. But his death had been decreed. Julius 

1 Under the Lex Julia (so called because Augustus, the author of it, had 
been adopted by Julius Caesar) the guilty parties, after the payment of 
heavy forfeitures and fines, were condemned to long or perpetual im¬ 
prisonment in different islands. It was for a long time mistakenly be¬ 
lieved that the Julian laws punished adultery with death. 

2 Post , page 144. 3 Ante , page 71. 


[ 83 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Grsecinas (who was the father of Agricola), a man of in¬ 
flexible integrity, and famous for his eloquence and philo¬ 
sophical learning,—for all of which he was accordingly 
hated by Caligula,—was ordered to accuse Silanus. Upon 
his refusal he was put to death; while Marcus, without 
further ado about forms, was driven to commit suicide 
with a razor. 

Of course Caligula had never cherished the slightest in¬ 
tention of fulfilling his promise to marry Macro’s wife, 
Ennia Neevia, when he should become Emperor. In order 
that there might remain no lingering doubt in her mind, 
and to demonstrate to his subjects a bit theatrically that 
a bad promise was better broken than kept, Ennia was 
speedily put to death, her husband, the brutal Macro, 
likewise meeting his just reward at the hands of the Em¬ 
peror he had created. About the same time Caligula got 
hold of his cousin Ptolemy, the son of King Juba, who 
had married Selene (or Cleopatra), the daughter of Mark 
Antony and Cleopatra, and Ptolemy’s relationship with 
the Emperor was speedily paid for with his life. 

The second marriage of Caligula occurred after his suc¬ 
cession, under the following circumstances. He was in at¬ 
tendance at the wedding of his friend Caius Piso with a 
beautiful woman named Livia Orestilla. After the cere¬ 
mony and while the wedding feast was in progress, the Em¬ 
peror, more and more impressed with the charms of Livia, 
sent a message to her husband commanding him on pain of 
death “not to touch the bride of Caesar”; who was there¬ 
upon at once conveyed to the Palatine. On the day follow¬ 
ing the Emperor published a proclamation “that he had 
secured a wife as Romulus and Augustus had done”; refer¬ 
ring in the one case to the rape of the Sabines, and in that 
of Augustus to his having taken Livia from Tiberius Nero. 

[ 84 ] 


THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 

Caligula soon tired of his second wife, and after enjoy¬ 
ing her imperial honors only a few days, Livia was dis¬ 
missed from the palace. The rumor soon came to Caligula 
that she had rejoined her rightful husband; whereupon in 
a fit of mercy the Emperor banished them from Rome. 

If the circumstances of his second marriage are thought 
to be shameful, the next matrimonial venture of this 
abomination in the imperial robes must be characterized 
as revolting. Shortly after his divorce of Livia, the Em¬ 
peror annulled the marriage of his own sister Drusilla 
with Lucius Cassius, 1 and himself deliberately married 
her; conferring upon her all the titles and honors ac¬ 
corded to the office of Empress. With all its vices and 
all its crimes, Rome had never seen a spectacle like this; 
and in this horrible deed of the Emperor Caligula is 
found the crowning abomination in the mighty structure 
of wickedness reared by the house of Cassar as an ever¬ 
lasting monument to its disgrace. The elder Livia had 
murdered her stepchildren; Tiberius had murdered his 
nephew and adopted son; the younger Livia had mur¬ 
dered her husband; while the younger Drusus had con¬ 
nived at the murder of his own brother. All these crimes 
against the sanctity of human life were the more terrible 
because perpetrated within the lines of the domestic cir¬ 
cle. But the crowning infamy of Caligula was a crime 
committed against the sacredness of domestic purity, 
without the inviolate preservation of which civilization 
would crumble into dust, evolution would become invo¬ 
lution, humanity would degenerate into beasthood. And 
within the memory or tradition even of Rome, that city 
where the criminal passions of the universe had exhausted 

1 This marriage had been arranged by Tiberius. Cassius was of a Roman 
plebeian family, but ancient and honorable. His history is untraced. 

[ 85 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

themselves in the furious vortex of unbridled public indul¬ 
gences, none but the immortal gods—and the Egyptians 
—were said to have done a thing like this. 

But little recked Caligula for the opinion of Rome, or 
for that matter of the immortal gods either. Was he not 
Cassar, and was not Caesar ‘‘Divine”? He would make his 
sister Drusilla a goddess; the whole world should Jcknowl- 
edge her divinity also. This he actually pretended to ac¬ 
complish; following which he declared that by will he had 
appointed her heiress both of his estate and the Empire. 

Caligula had a friend Lepidus, who had become the as¬ 
sociate of his most abandoned and nameless vices. Lepi¬ 
dus was a son of Julia, the granddaughter of Augustus, 
and a brother of ^Emilia Lepida, who was first betrothed 
to the Emperor Claudius and afterwards, by her marriage 
with Appius Junius, brought the Caesarean curse upon 
the unhappy family of Silanus. 1 He was thus cousin ger¬ 
man to the Emperor and the Empress Drusilla, whose 
mother, Agrippina, and Julia were sisters. Besides receiv¬ 
ing extravagant favors from Caligula, Lepidus was actu¬ 
ally encouraged to expect the succession. It was none the 
less an unbounded surprise to Rome and to Lepidus as 
well, when the Emperor bestowed upon the latter his 
deified Empress-sister Drusilla in marriage. Men said 
that Caligula was mad. As for Drusilla, history is silent 
in regard to her attitude towards this series of matri¬ 
monial ventures, without parallel in the history of any 
other civilized nation. The writers all agree, however, 
that she survived this last marriage only a short time 
and that under the infliction of her death the Emperor 
was inconsolable. Public mourning was ordered for her, 
during the continuance of which it was a capital offence 

1 Post, page 159. 


[ 86 ] 





AGRIPPINA WIFE OF GERMANICUS 
















THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 

for any person to bathe, or laugh or sup with his family. 
More than ever Caligula insisted upon her divinity, and 
a senator named Livius Gemminius swore that he saw 
her actually ascending to heaven, calling down terrible 
curses upon himself and his children and devoting him¬ 
self to the wrath of the angry gods and the goddess who 
had just joined them, if he had testified falsely. 

With the death of Drusilla, Lepidus seems to have be¬ 
come distrustful of the Emperor’s intentions towards him; 
and in a short time he became engaged in a conspiracy 
with Lentulus Gaetulicus, formerly consul. The plot was 
discovered and both were put to death, Caligula directing 
that three daggers should be hung up in the temple of 
Mars the Avenger, with an inscription that they were to 
have been employed in his assassination. 

Of the family of Germanicus there now remained 
besides Caligula only his aged grandmother, his uncle 
Claudius, and his two sisters, Julia and Agrippina. Julia 
had been married by the Emperor Tiberius to Marcus Vini- 
cius, a man of consular rank. There seem to have been no 
children of this marriage. Vinicius survived his wife, who 
was put to death by her uncle, the Emperor Claudius , 1 
and himself afterwards succumbed to the fury of Mes- 
salina . 2 

Both Julia and Agrippina (whose history belongs more 
properly to that of the Emperor Claudius) were suspected 
by Caligula of having participated in the conspiracy of 
their brother-in-law Lepidus, a criminal intimacy with 
whom was also charged against Agrippina. After the 
death of Lepidus the Emperor compelled Agrippina to 
carry in her arms, all the way from Gaul to Rome, an 
urn containing the ashes of her brother-in-law. The two 

1 Post, page 111. 2 Post , page 112. 

[ 87 ] 


THE HOUSE OF (LESAR 

sisters were thereafter banished from Rome by their bro¬ 
ther, who also threatened them with death; from which 
they undoubtedly escaped only by reason of the Em¬ 
peror’s own wicked life coming to a violent end shortly 
afterwards. In the meantime all of their property was 
confiscated, and furniture, jewels, and slaves were sold at 
a public auction, presided over by the Emperor in person; 
who finally decreed that all honors to Julia and Agrippina 
should be abolished, and that thereafter no public distinc¬ 
tion of any sort should be bestowed upon any of his re¬ 
lations. As for the aged Antonia, under whose roof the 
Emperor when a homeless orphan had found shelter and 
comfort, after suffering the most unheard-of indignities 
at his hands, she finally came to her end, as it is alleged, 
through poison which he caused to be administered. His 
uncle Claudius escaped for reasons which will appear in a 
following chapter . 1 

But it was not against the living alone that his hand 
was raised. Prevented by the death of his mother from 
practising his cruelty against her, he had shamelessly vili¬ 
fied her memory besides casting the vilest reflections upon 
his grandfather Agrippa and even upon his great-grand¬ 
father, the divine Augustus. It is not difficult to under¬ 
stand how a spirit so diseased, so wanting in the lowest 
sentiments of humanity and social decency, could have 
given utterance to the wish that the Roman people had 
one single neck, which he could then cut off at a blow. 

There remained one other member of Caligula’s family 
whose treatment by him deserves attention. This was his 
horse, Incitatus, whose name, freely translated, might be 
called “Go-ahead.” Upon this favorite animal the Em¬ 
peror lavished some of the fondness which he never dis- 
1 Post , page 99- 


C 88 ] 


THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 

played in his relations with human beings. A magnificent 
marble stable was erected for Incitatus, who inhabited a 
stall made of ivory, while his housings and other parapher¬ 
nalia were on a most extravagant scale. When he went to 
sleep guards were posted around his stable to prevent any 
noise disturbing his slumbers. In addition, the Emperor 
actually appointed a house and set apart a retinue of 
slaves for the reception of those who were invited in the 
name of the horse to sup with him. He was frequently led 
in to dine with the Emperor; and to crown all, Caligula 
gravely informed his friends that he intended to make In¬ 
citatus consul at an early day! At which the author of 
the delightful “Child’s History of Rome” naively remarks 
that he would have made as good a consul as many of 
those who filled the office. 

Having now discharged his duties to all the members 
of his family, and his temper having been thus suitably 
adjusted to the cares and obligations of domestic life, he 
was prepared for his fourth matrimonial venture, which, 
as might naturally be expected, occurred in a manner 
somewhat out of the usual line. Memmius Regulus, a man 
of fine parts, high character, and of consular rank, was 
in command of the army in Macedonia. His wife, Lollia 
Paulina, was with him. It was reported to the Emperor 
that Lollia’s grandmother had been an unusually beau¬ 
tiful woman; whereupon he immediately recalled Regu¬ 
lus from the province, and upon his arrival in Rome or¬ 
dered him to give up his wife, or, more strictly speaking, 
he reached out his hand and took her, as if there were 
no such being in existence as Regulus. Although rather 
startling to our narrow modern ideas upon the rights and 
sanctity of marriage, this act was a mere commonplace 
to Caligula, who indeed, as in a former instance, might 

[ 89 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CESAR 

truthfully allege a precedent in the marriage of the first 
Emperor with the wife of Tiberius Nero. 

Lollia maintained her imperial honors scarcely longer 
than the wife of Piso had, and her speedy dismissal by her 
august spouse was accompanied by an order neither to 
return to Regulus nor to remarry upon pain of death. 
The unhappy woman met the usual fate attending impe¬ 
rial alliances, in the succeeding reign . 1 Her husband, the 
consul, must have led a charmed life, having been a promi¬ 
nent figure in the reigns of four successive emperors, all 
of whom were given to shedding the blood of men high in 
authority. As consul, Regulus had executed the orders 
of the Emperor Tiberius for the arrest of the powerful 
Sejanus, who was at the time exercising all the powers 
of sovereignty and in command of all its defences. Joined 
with the exceptional courage which such an act evidenced, 
his commanding talents and fine tact enabled him to 
maintain his position throughout the sovereignty of both 
Caligula and Claudius (finally escaping death under Ca¬ 
ligula, however, only by the sudden death of the Emperor 
himself) and well along into the reign of Nero, when he 
came to a peaceful end. Nero paid a remarkable tribute 
to his talents, honor, and probity. When the Augustians 
around his bed during a severe illness were indulging in 
the usual flatteries by lamenting that the Republic (?) 
would be undone if he died, Caesar answered that “there 
was still one resource.” Pressed for an explanation he 
said, “Memmius Regulus.” But the death of Regulus 
was timely; a little later he too would undoubtedly have 
succumbed, as did the unspotted Thrasea, to the mad¬ 
dened Emperor s determination to destroy virtue itself. 

History mentions no children born to Caligula until 

1 Post, page 120. 


[ 90 ] 



AGRIPPINA WIFE OF GERMANICUS 











THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 

his last marriage, which followed closely his divorce of 
Lollia Paulina, whose beauty and attractions had not 
equalled his expectations. As a compensation for this 
disappointment, to the surprise of his friends, or rather 
his slaves,—for by this time he had not a friend in the 
world, unless it was his horse,—the Emperor next mar¬ 
ried Milonia Cassonia, a woman who possessed neither 
youth nor beauty, who was of the most disreputable 
character, and who was already the mother of three 
children, by a husband still living. For this abandoned 
creature Caligula now displayed the most unbounded af¬ 
fection, his extravagant treatment of Incitatus even suf¬ 
fering in comparison. Ceesonia is reported to have excelled 
all women of her time in an exquisite perception of sen¬ 
suality, which largely accounts for her remarkable influ¬ 
ence over the imperial madman, who once declared “that 
he was of a mind to put her to the torture to make her 
disclose her art.” But as well to posterity as to his con¬ 
temporaries, his innate depravity of mind, increased by 
all the defects of education and the license of unlimited 
power, were together insufficient to account for the mon¬ 
strous enormities which the Emperor displayed from this 
time on. The Court unhesitatingly accounted for them by 
declaring that Csesonia had given him a philter, or so- 
called love potion, which had both enfeebled his con¬ 
stitution and, by occasioning a violent nervous disorder, 
induced a permanent affection of the brain. The ancient 
writers all testify to the frequent use of such philters, 
which were believed to operate upon the mind by a mys¬ 
terious and sympathetic power; and it is perhaps only 
common charity to account in this way for some of the 
moral turpitude and frantic wickedness which Caligula 
displayed. 


[ 91 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Shortly after her marriage to Caligula, Caesonia gave 
birth to a child, who was considered by the Emperor as 
his own for no better reason, as declared by the author of 
the “Lives,” than “her savage temper, which was such, 
even in her infancy, that she would attack with her nails 
the face and eyes of the children at play with her.” Not 
yet forgetting the sister by whose “divinity” he still con¬ 
tinued to swear, Caligula named this child Julia Drusilla; 
and declaring that she was the daughter of Jupiter as well 
as of himself, he carried her to the temple of Minerva, laid 
her in the lap of that goddess, and recommended her edu¬ 
cation to all the divinities. 

But for Caligula the shadows were now fast length¬ 
ening. Even in besotted, degraded, cowering, cringing 
Rome, there came a time when the glimmering instincts 
of human nature, and of self-preservation as well, roused 
men to rebel against the monstrous oppression under 
which the Roman people had groaned for nearly four 
years. A plot was formed to kill the Emperor, who, gain¬ 
ing some knowledge of it, caused a woman named Quin- 
tilia, supposed to know something about the conspiracy, 
to be tortured in hopes of securing from her a confession. 
The woman endured the most horrible physical torment 
and confessed nothing. This act sealed the tyrant’s doom. 
The torture of Quintilia had been maliciously delegated 
to a bold tribune named Cassius Cheerea, for whom the 
Emperor cherished a strong dislike. Chasrea had suffered 
repeated indignities at the hands of Caligula, who lost no 
opportunity of insulting him, by calling him a coward; 
whereas the tribune while a young man had become cele¬ 
brated for his display of undaunted spirit in cutting his 
way through the rebellious guards at the time so many 
centurions were slain during the rebellion of the German 
[ 92 ] 



CINERARY URN OF AGRIPPINA 
(Inscribed . “Bones of Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Agrippa , wife of Ger- 
manicus Caesar , mother of the Emperor Caius Caesar Augustus Germanicus” ) 





















































































• * 




















































































































































































































THE FAMILY OF CALIGULA 

legions. 1 Incensed by the suffering of Quintilia, whose 
fortitude and constancy alone preserved him and his as¬ 
sociates in the plot from death, Chserea declared that he 
would postpone the deed no longer; for if further de¬ 
layed some one else would kill Caligula, and he would 
thus lose the privilege of ridding the world of such a 
monster. 

It was resolved to despatch him during the Palatine (or 
Circensian) games, which were about commencing. For 
three days Chserea watched for an opportunity. But 
warned by his previous suspicions and as well by various 
omens and portents of his approaching end, the Emperor 
was so constantly surrounded by the guards that it was 
impossible to approach him. On the fourth day of the 
games, however, the occasion presented itself. The Em¬ 
peror, who was slightly indisposed while at the theatre, 
was prevailed upon by the conspirators to try the bath; 
and while passing through a low vaulted passage, in com¬ 
pany with his uncle Claudius, Marcus Vinicius, his sister’s 
husband, and a few others, Chserea struck him down, and 
he was despatched by the others as he lay screaming, “I 
am not dead.” His death occurred on the twenty-fourth of 
January, 41 a. d., after he had lived twenty-nine years and 
reigned three years, ten months, and eight days. His body 
was carried privately into the Lamian Gardens, where after 
being half burned, it was carelessly covered with earth. It 
was disinterred by his sisters Julia and Agrippina, after 
their recall from banishment by the Emperor Claudius, 
and reduced to ashes. 

After the death of Caligula, Chserea, according to Jo¬ 
sephus, “was very uneasy that Caius’s daughter and wife 
were still alive, and that all his family did not perish with 
1 Annals, i. 39. 


[ 93 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

him, since whosoever was left of them must be left for the 
ruin of the city and of the laws.” After discussion by the 
conspirators it was finally decided, although not unani¬ 
mously, that Caligula’s wife must die, and Julius Lupus, 
one of the tribunes, was sent to despatch her. Caesonia 
was found lying by her husband’s dead body, and met her 
fate bravely, stretching out her neck and bidding Lupus 
strike without fear. The young Drusilla was dashed against 
a wall, and the race of the “divine” Caius Caesar was at 
an end. 


[ 94 ] 


CHAPTER VIII 

CLAUDIUS (LESAR, THE FOURTH EMPEROR 
From 41 A. D. to 54 A. D. 

HE accession to the throne of Claudius Caesar, the 



JL fourth Roman Emperor, was signalized by the last 
memorable effort of the Senate to reassume its ancient 
rights, of which it had been finally deprived nearly three- 
quarters of a century before. 

Caligula had left neither descendant, son by adoption, 
nor even heir created by will. His immediate family had 
been completely annihilated—with the exception of Inci- 
tatus, who had been proposed by his master for no higher 
office than that of consul, and was therefore, of course, 
ineligible to the purple. Of his brothers and sisters all 
were dead except two of the latter, who had been ban¬ 
ished for their crimes. The only surviving male descen¬ 
dant of Germanicus was Agrippina’s son Nero, then only 
two years of age. Rubellius Plautus, a great-grandson of 
the Emperor Tiberius, was also a child of tender years, 
and no one had suggested the claims of the surviving 
male descendants of the Emperor Augustus in the fourth 
generation—the sons of ^Emilia Lepida and Appius Ju¬ 
nius Silanus. To be sure, there was Claudius—brother of 
Germanicus and uncle of the late Emperor. But Claudius 
had always been and still was a mere laughing-stock at 
the palace. He was considered by the Court as half¬ 
witted, and tradition has it that his own mother, the 
beautiful and sensible Antonia, used to say in speaking 
of any exceptionally stupid person, “He is nearly as great 
a fool as my Claudius.” The mere fact that his having 


[ 95 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

been passed over by his uncle, the Emperor Tiberius, 
when the latter selected Caligula for adoption, excited no 
comment whatever, is an indication that he occupied a 
small place in the attention of the Roman world. Present 
at the murder of his nephew, he fled and concealed him¬ 
self immediately thereafter; and, under the prevailing ex¬ 
citement, to the patricians, at least, as to such as Claudius 
it was out of sight, out of mind. 

So that the time seemed opportune and everything pro¬ 
pitious for a last strike for liberty; and the Senate, arous¬ 
ing itself from its seven decades of slavish imbecility, pre¬ 
pared once more to assume the direction of affairs. The 
consuls immediately convoked an assembly in the Capitol, 
resolutions were adopted condemning the memory of the 
Caesars, “Liberty” was selected as the new watchword, 
which was to be given to the cohorts, and during forty- 
eight hours the Senate, for almost the last time in its 
history, dared to act as “the independent chiefs of a free 
commonwealth. ” 

“But while they deliberated,” says Gibbon, “the prae¬ 
torians had resolved. The stupid Claudius was already in 
their camp, invested with the imperial purple and prepared 
to support his election by arms. The dream of liberty was 
at an end; and the Senate awoke to all the horrors of in¬ 
evitable servitude.” 

After the “virtuous slaughter” of Caligula, as Josephus 
happily terms it, all of his attendants fled in the greatest 
dismay. Among them was Claudius, who, beside himself 
with fright, ran into the palace adjoining the theatre 
where the assassination occurred, and concealed himself in 
an alcove behind some curtains. The news of the Em¬ 
peror’s death spread like wildfire, and the German guards, 
who were especially devoted to Caligula because of the 
[ 96 ] 



NERO SON OF GERMAN ICES 












CLAUDIUS CJE SAR 

immense sums he had distributed among them, rushed 
with drawn swords into the theatre and thence overran 
the palace. Claudius was ignominiously pulled from his 
hiding-place, begging piteously for his life. But his char¬ 
acter was too well known for him to be an object of 
suspicion in connection with the crime, and the guards 
foreseeing a possible struggle with the Senate, and appre¬ 
ciating the advantage of having on their side the last 
prince of the blood, disregarding his protestations, hur¬ 
ried him out of the palace and into the large open court, 
where they speedily assembled their companions by set¬ 
ting up a great shout: “This is a Germanicus; 1 let us 
make him our Emperor.” And the trembling, half-witted 
old man, who was so weak from fright that the guards 
had been compelled to carry him out of doors, discovered 
to his great amazement that it was not his life, but to se¬ 
cure for him the throne of his ancestors, which the soldiers 
were seeking. He therefore now willingly accompanied the 
guards to their camp, where, assured that he should have 
the united support of the Celtic legion and the praetorian 
cohorts, he quietly awaited the successful outcome which 
the leaders promised, having agreed that when he became 
Emperor every legionary should have a sum of money 
equivalent to seven hundred and fifty dollars. 

The populace of Rome were with the soldiers; indeed 
even among the senators themselves the sentiment was 
largely the same way. The conspirators had been animated 
by the motive of self-preservation, not by a principle of 
liberty. It was the person of the tyrant, not the imperial 
idea, against which the sword of Chserea had been raised. 
Nevertheless, from the fact that the debate in the as¬ 
sembly was prolonged during two entire days, it is appar- 
1 See Note 2, page 107. 


[ 97 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

ent that there was still a considerable party in favor of 
reestablishing the ancient form of government. But it 
was too late. The cruelty, licentiousness, and tyranny of 
the last two reigns, to which the people had slavishly sub¬ 
mitted, had brought the inevitable result. Roman virtue 
was dead. The authority and influence which the Senate 
had formerly enjoyed were gone forever. The imperial idea, 
backed up by the sword of the legionary, had taken its 
place. Without the aid of the common people, it was ab¬ 
solutely impossible for a discredited assembly of the patri¬ 
cians, totally unprovided with resources, to reestablish its 
independence and successfully proclaim public freedom. 
And when the clamor of the multitude was added to the 
open menaces which the praetorians began to utter, the 
debate weakened. Chserea and his companions were over¬ 
borne, and upon the shoulders of the guard Claudius was 
at length carried triumphantly to the Capitol, where an 
obsequious Senate hailed him as Emperor, and Roman 
liberty had uttered its last sigh. This transaction, says one 
of the commentators of Suetonius, “laid the foundation of 
that military despotism which through many succeeding 
ages convulsed the Roman Empire”; and which, might 
as truthfully have been added, contributed largely to its 
final disintegration. 

Tiberius Claudius Drusus was born at Lyons on the 
first day of August, 10 b. c., so that he was in his fifty- 
first year when he became Emperor. He was the second 
of the three children of Drusus, the younger brother of 
the Emperor Tiberius, and Antonia, the younger daughter 
of Mark Antony and the Emperor Augustus’s sister Oc- 
tavia. Germanicus was his elder brother and Livia, the 
wife of the Emperor Tiberius’s son Drusus, was his sister. 
After the adoption of his elder brother into the Julian 
[ 98 ] 


CLAUDIUS CAESAR 

family, 1 he assumed the cognomen of Germanicus, which 
by a decree of the Senate in the lifetime of his father 
Drusus had been bestowed upon him and his posterity. 
His ancestry has been considered in a former chapter. 2 

Claudius—for thus he has been invariably called—was 
an infant at the time of his father’s death; and as in early 
youth he was apparently both of a weak constitution and 
deficient in intellect, in the glory of his elder brother’s 
promise and popularity he was pushed to one side, and 
thereafter treated by the entire Court—including, as we 
are told, even his own mother—with a contempt which 
would have amounted to scorn if it had not been so care¬ 
less. It is undoubtedly to this fact alone that Claudius so 
long escaped the fate which overwhelmed every other 
member of his immediate family and so many of his kin¬ 
dred as well. Nobody thought of killing him for the 
simple reason that nobody thought of him at all, and but 
for his unexpected exposure to the imperial disease he 
would doubtless have come to a peaceful end, and thus 
attained a unique place in history as the only male Caesar 
following Augustus who escaped a violent death. 

For a long time his education was neglected entirely, 
and but for the Emperor Augustus he might never have 
received any other teaching than that of the mule driver 
who had been selected for his tutor “on purpose to cor¬ 
rect him severely on every trifling occasion.” His pene¬ 
trating grandfather discerned in the unhappy boy some¬ 
thing more than the fool and even idiot which his family 
considered him; although in the end Augustus himself 
apparently came to the conclusion that (to use his own 
expression in a letter to the Empress Livia) Claudius was 
“below par and deficient in body and mind”; for he in- 
1 Ante, page 43. 2 Chapter v. page 57. 

L.ofC. [ 99 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

vested him with no other honor than the augural priest¬ 
hood. The Emperor Tiberius plainly cherished the same 
opinion; for he refused his nephew’s request for prefer¬ 
ment in the State, permitting him to have merely the 
honorary appendages of the consulship. In the end, how¬ 
ever, Claudius to a considerable extent outgrew his com¬ 
plaints, and actually seems to have attained distinction as 
a scholar and writer. But his spirits never fully recovered 
from the effects of both disease and punishment, while to 
the extreme timidity incident to his sickly constitution 
were afterwards added those vices which were the natural 
consequence of the indolence to which he resigned himself 
when convinced that he was destined to no advancement. 

Tiberius made some tardy show of justice towards 
Claudius by leaving him a legacy of two millions of ses¬ 
terces, and also in his will expressly recommending “the 
brother of Germanicus to the armies, the Senate, and peo¬ 
ple of Rome.” The people now began to treat him more 
kindly, so that finally Caligula at the outset of his reign 
desiring to win popularity and support in the easiest pos¬ 
sible way, made his uncle consul; although, as it proved, 
by accepting the olive branch at so late a day from a 
member of his family, Claudius was only opening the 
door to additional insults, considerable personal danger, 
and the loss of almost his entire estate, of which he was 
shortly robbed by the Emperor. Once again he became the 
butt and laughing-stock of the imperial parasites, and was 
speedily lapsing into his old condition of degradation and 
almost imbecility, when by a surprising turn of circum¬ 
stances, he who by the first Emperor was thought to be 
unworthy of any public trust, himself attained the purple 
and assumed the cognomen of Caesar. And while for some 
time after his succession, owing, perhaps, to the novelty of 
[ 100 ] 



DRUSUS SON OF GERMANICUS 


I 





CLAUDIUS CAESAR 

his position, joined to the good fortune of having wise 
counsellors, he displayed such prudence and sagacity as to 
amaze all who had known him, it has been remarked as 
nevertheless difficult to assign any other motive for the 
choice of Claudius as Emperor than that which the army 
professed—“His relationship to the whole family of Cae¬ 
sars.” The commencement of his reign of course demanded 
a libation of blood. And while Lupus, the slayer of Cee- 
sonia, is entitled to no tears, it is sad to read that the brave 
Chaerea was punished for his righteous crime. But such 
sacrifices were in those days considered only the ordinary 
and indispensable precautions for the new Emperor’s own 
safety; and Claudius destroyed their harshness with the 
vast majority of his subjects by immediately thereafter 
passing an act of perpetual oblivion and pardon for every¬ 
thing which had been said and done. Even Valerius Asiati- 
cus, who, when asked after Caligula was stricken down who 
it was had done it, had replied, “Would to God I had 
been the man!”—even he was unmolested. And posterity 
must affirm that “the half-witted Claudius” commenced 
his reign more like a human being, with an accountable 
soul, than any other Emperor of his house. 

The Emperor Claudius was tall and not ill formed; but 
from his rickety constitution his knees were weak, and 
his gait was consequently awkward and shambling. Al¬ 
though there may be a question whether his mental infirm¬ 
ity proceeded from inheritance or a severe illness which 
occurred in his childhood, from the developments of his 
history it seems highly probable that but for the con¬ 
temptuous and abusive treatment received in early life 
he might have largely outgrown his weaknesses, which, 
yielding readily to the evil persuasions of Messalina, ulti¬ 
mately led him into dissolute and sanguinary courses, end- 
[ 101 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

ing in a miserable death. It is the one grave reflection 
upon the proudly virtuous character of his mother that 
Antonia seems not to have shielded him in the childish 
sufferings which were inflicted by his coarse-minded rela¬ 
tives; but, on the contrary, appears to have openly pub¬ 
lished his infirmities in every-day conversation with her 
friends. 

We are told by the only historian who has attempted a 
personal description of the early Caesars that Claudius was 
“outrageous in his laughter and still more so in his wrath, 
for then he foamed at the mouth”; that he also “stam¬ 
mered in his speech and had a tremulous motion of the 
head at all times, but particularly when he was engaged 
in any business, however trifling.” 

He was an abandoned glutton, and never left the table 
until both surfeited with food and intoxicated; was de¬ 
voted to gambling, and in fact escaped few of the impe¬ 
rial vices, although far more restrained and decent in yield¬ 
ing to them than either of his two predecessors. The fear 
and distrust which were said to have been his most promi¬ 
nent and habitual characteristics may be easily traced to 
the original source of his other moral infirmities,—the 
contemptuous and brutal treatment which during the first 
fifty years of his life he had received from his equals and 
associates, who never missed an opportunity to gratify 
their vicious propensities by taking the most cruel advan¬ 
tage of his natural timidity. It was mainly through work¬ 
ing upon his fears that Messalina incited him to display 
the cruel and sanguinary disposition which was in such 
striking contrast with the mildness and justice which had 
characterized the first few months of his reign. It seems to 
have been universally conceded that Claudius was not 
only sincerely anxious to promote the welfare of the State, 
[ 102 ] 


CLAUDIUS CiESAR 

but in no mean degree competent to institute and carry 
into effect measures the best adapted to accomplish such 
an end; and that if happily spared from the malign in¬ 
fluences of Messalina and the evil counsellors she fastened 
upon him, or if he had been originally permitted to de¬ 
velop a character sufficient to withstand her machinations, 
the Emperor’s reign would have been both benignant and 
wdse. As it is, his history furnishes another example of the 
fact, too frequently overlooked, that without a sufficient 
endowment of decided character, honesty and the best in¬ 
tentions will not avoid a miserable failure in the attempted 
accomplishment of a great public service. And yet not¬ 
withstanding the disgust aroused at contemplation of the 
cruelty, sensuality, and imbecile conduct displayed by the 
brother of Germanicus during the greater part of his reign, 
the magnificent works which were erected, the many gen¬ 
uine reforms which .were instituted, the just and salutary 
laws which were established, and the consistent kindness 
and justice with which the common people were treated 
by “the half-witted Claudius,” persuade us that not only 
must there have been reason for the strong affection cher¬ 
ished for him by the people, but that in proportion to his 
talents and environment he actually rendered more to his 
subjects and to posterity than any Csesar other than the 
founder of his house. And our unhesitating conclusion 
must be that he was more sinned against than sinning. 


[ 103 ] 


CHAPTER IX 


THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 


T the time of his accession the Emperor Claudius had 



JDl been married five times and four children had been 
born to him; while a fifth child, the ill-fated Britannicus, 
was born twenty days after his father ascended the throne 
(February 13, 41 a. d.) and came to his death at the hands 
of his cousin, the Emperor’s successor, some fifteen years 


later. 


Claudius first married—or perhaps only became be¬ 
trothed to—^Emilia Lepida, the only daughter of his 
cousin Julia , 1 the granddaughter of Augustus, and Lucius 
iEmilius Paul us, grandnephew of the triumvir Lepidus. 
At the time of his betrothal to iEmilia, Claudius was en¬ 
tirely dependent upon his uncle for the most ordinary 
consideration ; 2 and when shortly afterwards Augustus be¬ 
came incensed by the conduct of Julia (or possibly that 
of Paulus, who had engaged in a conspiracy against the 
Emperor), the betrothal or marriage, whichever it was, 
with ^Emilia was abruptly broken off. Not long after this 
disappointment he married Livia Medullina, a beautiful 
young lady of high extraction, but only to have the cup 
dashed from his lips a second time, as Livia expired sud¬ 
denly on her wedding day. 

His next venture, although more successful at the out¬ 
set, in the end brought him more bitterness than either 
of the others. Plautia Urgulanilla, who became his third 
wife, was the daughter of a brave soldier, who had at- 

1 Julia was the daughter of Augustus’s daughter Julia and Agrippa. Ante, 
page 39. 2 Ante, page 99. 


[ 104 ] 



CALIGULA 














THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

tained the honor of a triumph; and to the unbounded 
delight of Claudius she bore him a son, who was called 
Drusus. But the happiness of Claudius was short-lived. 
Drusus, while still very young, was playing one day at 
Pompeii, and, it is said, while tossing something into the 
air, caught it in his mouth and was choked to death. Only 
a few days before he had been betrothed by Tiberius to 
one of Sejanus’s daughters ; 1 which seems a just occasion 
of surprise to one of the ancient writers that this Drusus 
also should have been considered by certain other authors 
as one of the victims of Sejanus. However this may be, for 
any scion of the house of Csesar, to lose his life was the 
only way of saving it, and the death of Drusus at a tender 
age ought not to have been deplored. Not long afterwards 
his mother, Plautia, was suspected by her lord of unfaith¬ 
fulness and of having been concerned in a murder (which 
latter was of course entirely too shocking for the delicate 
sensibility of a Caesar), and she was thereupon “ repudiated 
with infamy”—whatever may be implied in the phrase. 
Plautia had another child, a daughter named Claudia. She 
was five months old when her mother was driven from 
the palace, and Claudius, disclaiming her paternity, ordered 
that she be cast naked at her mother’s door. 

One might think that by this time Claudius would have 
been somewhat sobered by his matrimonial experiences; 
but encouraging himself perhaps with the assertion of 
Socrates that whether a man married or not he was bound 
to regret it, he speedily selected a fourth wife in the per¬ 
son of iElia Pastina, a daughter of the Tuberonian family 
and whose father was a man of consular rank. Paetina re¬ 
mained his wife long enough to bear him a daughter, who 
was called Antonia, after the mother of Claudius, and 
1 Ante , page 66. 


[ 105 ] 


THE HOUSE OF C^SAR 

whose end was quite as wretched as might be expected, 
in view of the events which ensued. After being twice 
married, and witnessing the murder of both husbands, one 
at the hands of her father 1 and the other a victim to 
Nero’s cruelty , 2 she herself succumbed to the rage of the 
latter, upon her refusal to marry him, after the death of 
Poppeea . 3 

Pastina having been divorced upon grounds so slight 
that in explaining her repudiation the ancient writers 
speak only of the Emperor’s “disgust” for his wife, Clau¬ 
dius now took a step which ultimately stained his hands 
with blood and his character with infamy, bringing to him 
finally shame beyond measure, and to the Roman people 
such oppression and injustice as made them speedily for¬ 
get the mildness and almost excellence—comparatively 
speaking—which characterized the earlier part of his 
reign. 

Antonia, the mother of Claudius, had an elder sister of 
the same name , 4 who had married Lucius Domitius Ahe- 
nobarbus and become the mother of three children. One of 
them, a son, married Agrippina, the niece of Claudius and 
sister of Caligula, who with her sister Julia, upon the ac¬ 
cession of Claudius, was recalled by him from the exile 
imposed upon them by their brother* the former Em¬ 
peror . 5 The only child of this marriage was Nero, after¬ 
wards Emperor; and it would not be strange if nature had 
exhausted itself in the production of such a monster as 
this child afterwards showed himself. 

The other two children of L. Domitius and the elder 
Antonia were daughters, each bearing the name of Do- 
mitia Lepida. It has been a common mistake with modern 

1 Post , page 113. 2 Post, page 148. 3 Post, page 154. 4 See page 108. 

5 Ante, page 88. f 


[ 106 ] 


THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

historians and others who have written about this period 
of Roman history to consider that Nero’s father had only 
one sister . 1 The frequent carelessness and occasional ob¬ 
scurity of the ancient writers are to some extent respon¬ 
sible for the mistakes and confusion which have existed in 
regard to the two Lepidas. But the main difficulty, as well 
in tracing descent through the female line as in occasion¬ 
ally distinguishing between sisters, lies in the fact that 
the Roman women bore no distinctive prsenomen ; 2 which, 
by the way, is terribly significant of another fact, perhaps 
not fully proven, although highly probable,—that the 
horrible practice of exposure and infanticide, enjoined by 
the wise Solon and approved by the gentle Plutarch, had 
previously been, if it was not still, prevalent among the 

1 In Darkness and Dawn Canon Farrar speaks of “ Domitia Lepida, the 
mother of the Empress Messalina, and the former wife of Crispus Passi- 
enus”; whereas the mother of Messalina and the wife of Passienus, the 
orator, were distinct persons. See next page. 

2 To mark the different gentes and familice, and to distinguish the indi¬ 
viduals of the same family, the Romans had commonly three names, the 
prcenomen, the nomen , and the cognomen. 

The prcenomen was put first and marked the individual , and was usually 
written with one letter: A. for Aulus; C. for Caius; M. for Marcus. 

The nomen followed the praenomen and indicated the gens. It usually 
ended in ius; as Julius , Cornelius , Domitius (changing to Julia , Cornelia , 
and Domitia in case of females). 

The cognomen came last and marked the familia; as Caesar , Nero , Scipio. 
Some gentes, however, appear to have had no cognomen, or surname; for 
example, Caius Marius , Marcus Agrippa. 

Occasionally there was a fourth name, called the agnomen (but some¬ 
times also spoken of as cognomen), which was added to commemorate 
an illustrious action or remarkable event. Thus on account of his memo¬ 
rable victories in Germany, Germanicus was added to the nomen of the 
brother of Tiberius, so that he was finally called Drusus Germanicus ; in 
the same way, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , from his exploit at 
Carthage. 


[ 107 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Romans . 1 But whatever the reason therefor, the fact ex¬ 
isted that an individual name was not usually bestowed 
upon the female child, who was distinguished merely by 
an adaptation to her sex of the nomen of her father or 
mother, or of that which marked the gens of some other 
ancestor, or collateral relative. Thus the frequency of the 
name Julia in the family of Csesar, which belonged to the 
Gens Julius ; the name of Agrippina , in the posterity of 
Agrippa; the two Octavias , sisters of the Emperor Au¬ 
gustus (Octavius ); 2 Mark Antony’s two daughters, the 
elder and younger Antonia, who were the first Emperor’s 
nieces , 3 and the sisters whose names introduced this di¬ 
gression, the two Lepidas, who were grandnieces of Au¬ 
gustus. 

The eldest of these daughters of Antonia and L. Domi- 
tius was usually called by the second name, Lepida , and 
hereafter will be referred to under this name only. The 
younger daughter, who married Crispus Passienus, is inva¬ 
riably mentioned by her full name, Domitia Lepida, and 
may thus readily be distinguished from her more brilliant 
and notorious sister. 

Lepida married M. Valerius Messala Barbatus, and be¬ 
came the mother of Messalina, who lived to become one 

1 Positive as well as indirect testimony on this point is found in Dion 
Cassius, Tertullian, and Tacitus. The destruction of Claudia, the infant 
daughter of Claudius and Plautia, seems to have been practically a case 
of exposure. Ante, page 105. 

2 Even Plutarch falls into an error in connection with the two Octavias. 
He says Mark Antony married Octavia Major, who was only half-sister 
to Augustus, and not of the blood of Caesar; whereas it was the younger 
Octavia, daughter of Atia and own sister to Augustus, whose marriage 
with the triumvir sealed the confederacy. Ante, page 21. 

3 Tacitus says that the younger Antonia was the grandmother of Nero; 
whereas all the other writers agree that it was Antonia Major . 

[ 108 ] 



CALIGULA 


















































































































































































































THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

of the most beautiful, most abandoned and shamelessly 
profligate women among all the beautiful and abandoned 
profligates who disgraced their sex by participating in the 
revolting orgies of the imperial Court. 

Through their mothers, the two Antonias, Claudius and 
Lepida were cousins german, which relationship also ex¬ 
isted between Claudius and Lepida’s husband. The latter’s 
father was Messala Barbatus, a Claudian by birth but who 
had been adopted by Valerius Messala, a consul in the 
time of the first Cassar. Messala Barbatus married Mar¬ 
cella the younger , 1 a daughter of Octavia by her first hus¬ 
band, and thus a half-sister of Claudius’s mother Antonia, 
and as well of the other Antonia, who was mother of 
Lepida. So that M. Valerius Messala and Lepida, Messa- 
lina’s father and mother, were also own cousins; and in 
the veins of the young princess flowed two currents of 
the imperial blood. She was now perhaps sixteen years 
old, and already celebrated for her fascinations; and after 
Claudius’s divorce of Peetina—or perhaps before—it was 
towards this beautiful daughter of his brilliant, accom¬ 
plished, and wealthy relative that his longing eyes were 
next directed in his prolonged search after a fitting con¬ 
sort for the nephew and uncle of emperors. 

In those days it was blood rather than brains, and how¬ 
ever lacking mentally, a Germanicus, who was at the same 
time uncle of the reigning Emperor, did not find it neces¬ 
sary to ask twice to secure a bride. And so two or three 
years before the death of Caligula, the beautiful young 
Messalina, his first cousin once removed, became the fifth 
wife of Claudius. She had already borne him a daughter 
when he ascended the throne, and three weeks after his 

1 She was a sister of Agrippa’s wife, the first Marcella, and of Marcellus, 
the first son-in-law of Augustus. 

[ 109 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

accession the Emperor’s joy was increased by the birth of 
a son, who was named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, 
afterwards called Britannicus in honor of the Emperor’s 
victories beyond the sea. He enjoyed the distinction of 
being the only son born to a reigning Emperor of the 
house of Ceesar. But the distinction made no difference to 
the young prince when his powerful stepmother Agrip¬ 
pina kept him in the background while pushing her own 
son to the front; and still later when his mere existence 
threatening the stability of Nero’s throne, the terrible arts 
of Locusta were employed by the usurper to destroy his 
cousin in true Caesarean style. 

The mother of Britannicus was able, as well as beautiful 
and immoral, and it was not long before she had gained 
complete ascendency over her weak and irresolute, if not 
mentally infirm, husband. She established a sort of trium¬ 
virate, devoted to the support of her interests, by selecting 
for the three highest offices in the imperial household, 
Pallas, who was made treasurer, Narcissus, who was ap¬ 
pointed secretary of state, and Callistus, who was practi¬ 
cally minister of the home department—all chosen on 
account of their utter lack of principle and willingness to 
prostitute themselves to the basest desires of their imperial 
mistress, who then became the real head of the State. And 
it has been truly observed that the cruelty, falsehood, and 
profligacy of those who had unfortunately obtained so com¬ 
plete an influence over him, prompted the Emperor Clau¬ 
dius to acts of oppression and injustice equally against his 
inclination and judgment. The mildness and humanity 
which he had displayed at the commencement of his reign 
were speedily covered up with deeds of violence which, as 
exhibitions of cold-blooded tyranny, quite equalled those 
of his predecessor. But there was this material difference 

[ no ] 


THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

between the two: the crimes of Caligula were performed 
from his own innate wickedness and actual love of crime, 
whereas almost without exception Claudius was prompted 
to raise his hand against his kindred by the artful malice 
of his infamous wife. 

Among the first victims were the two Julias, the daugh¬ 
ters of Tiberius’s son Drusus, and Germanicus. The former 
had first married Nero, brother of the other Julia, and 
after his death had married Rubellius Blandus. Julia, the 
daughter of Germanicus, had married Marcus Vinicius. 
From her haughty disposition this Julia (who was the 
youngest sister of Agrippina) incurred the enmity of Mes- 
salina, who was jealous of the other on account of her 
beauty and supposed influence over the Emperor, to 
whom, on account of her near relationship, she had the 
right of access at all hours. Without any proof of the 
crimes with which, at the instance of the Empress, they 
were charged, or even permitting them to make any de¬ 
fence, the two great-granddaughters of Augustus were put 
to death by Claudius. One of the victims was a daughter 
of the Emperor’s brother; the other was the only daughter 
of his sister Livia. The fate of Julia’s second husband, 
Rubellius Blandus, is in doubt; their only child, Rubellius 
Plautus, was put to death by the Emperor Nero . 1 

After the death of Julia, her husband, Marcus Vinicius, 
was made consul by the Emperor. Vinicius appears to 
have been of rather a mild and retiring disposition, and 
seems never to have distinguished himself by the display 
of either vice or virtue. But he had been the husband 
of Messalina’s enemy, and besides was once unfortunate 
enough to anger the Empress by refusing, in a fit of 
virtue, to become a party to her disgraceful conduct. This 
1 Ante y page 72. 


[ in ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 
time she did not take the trouble to go to Claudius, but 
herself poisoned Vinicius. 

Claudius had betrothed his daughter Octavia to Lucius 
Silanus, the second son of his first wife, ^Emilia Lepida 
(the great-granddaughter of Augustus), by Appius Junius 
Silanus, whom she had married after Claudius divorced 
her. In order to further strengthen her position the Em¬ 
press, whose father had died, induced her husband to re¬ 
call Appius Junius (whose wife ^Emilia also was dead), 
who was Governor of Spain at the time, and compel him 
to marry her mother Lepida . 1 But it was not long be¬ 
fore Silanus likewise incurred her displeasure and she re¬ 
solved to get rid of him. With the aid of her secretary, it 
was readily accomplished. Before daybreak one morning 
Narcissus burst into the Emperor’s bedchamber, and with 
a great assumption of fright, told Claudius that he had 
dreamed that Appius Silanus had murdered him. Upon 
this, Messalina, affecting great surprise, declared that she 
too had dreamed that her husband had been slain by Ap¬ 
pius. At this juncture word came that Appius had come 
to see the Emperor—orders having been given him at 
the instance of the conspirators to be at the palace at that 
time. The truth of the dream was thus confirmed and Ap¬ 
pius was at once put to death, Claudius on the follow¬ 
ing day acknowledging to the Senate his great obligation 
to Narcissus and the Empress for watching over him even 
while he slept. 

Appius left five children by .Emilia Lepida. Of these 
great-great-grandchildren of Augustus, one son was poi¬ 
soned and another driven to suicide by Agrippina, the 
sixth wife of Claudius ; 2 one daughter was exiled by 

1 Silanus thus had the distinction of twice marrying into the Julian family. 

2 Post, pages 137 and 138. 


[ H2 ] 



CALIGULA 















THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

Claudius , 1 and the remaining son and daughter were re¬ 
spectively driven to suicide and exiled by the Emperor 
Nero . 2 The younger Silanus, only grandson of Appius Ju¬ 
nius and the last surviving male descendant of the divine 
Augustus, was also put to death by Nero . 3 

The Emperor had given in marriage his daughter An¬ 
tonia, the child of his fourth wife, P«tina, to Cneius 
Pompey, a descendant of the triumvir. Besides permit¬ 
ting his son-in-law to reassume the cognomen of Magnus, 
or Great, which had been taken from him by Caligula, 
Pompey had been loaded with honors by the Emperor, 
who treated him—and as well Cornelius Sylla, who be¬ 
came Antonia’s second husband—as Augustus did the 
young princes; among other things allowing them to stand 
for high offices five years before the age prescribed by law. 
But all this favor and magnificence did not save Pompey. 
Guilty of the crime of displeasing Messalina, without any 
form of proceeding to establish an actual offence, he was 
stabbed in bed by the orders of Claudius. Crassus Frugi, 
his father, and Scribonia, his mother, perished with him. 
Their nobility is said to have been their crime. Crassus 
was certainly not feared for his genius. As Crevier says, 
“He resembled Claudius perfectly in his stupidity and 
was in that respect as worthy to succeed him as he w r as 
incapable of coveting his post.” 

Antonia left no children either by Pompey or Sylla. 
Both she and her second husband were murdered by 
Nero . 4 

The mutilated text of the eleventh book of the “An¬ 
nals,” which begins abruptly in the seventh year of the 
reign of Claudius (the history of the six preceding years 

1 Post, page 119. 2 Post, page 138. 3 Post, page 158. 

4 Post, pages 148 and 154. 


C US ] 


THE HOUSE OF CESAR 

being lost), informs us that Messalina was bent upon the 
ruin of Valerius Asiaticus, and that “as she coveted his fine 
gardens, commenced by Lucullus, but carried out on an 
extended scale and adorned in a style of unexampled mag¬ 
nificence by himself, she suborned Suilius to accuse him.” 

Valerius was the brave consul who publicly proclaimed 
regret that he had not had the honor of slaying Caligula. 
He was now dragged in chains to Rome, denied a hearing 
before the Senate, and tried privately in the presence of 
Messalina. He defended himself so eloquently that the 
Emperor was greatly moved and even Messalina is said to 
have shed tears. Asiaticus was finally granted the favor of 
choosing the mode of his death. After declaring that it 
would have been less ignominious to die by the dark arti¬ 
fices of Tiberius or the fury of Caligula than thus to fall 
by the base devices of a woman, he opened his veins, the 
usual method of an enforced suicide among the elegant, 
agreeable, and civilized Roman citizens. The coveted gar¬ 
dens belonged to the Empress at last; and it was there 
that Nemesis overtook her. 

Common decency forbids our coming within sight or 
sound of the personal life of Messalina, whose murders 
were merely the occasional staccato notes in a continued 
theme of vice, which was now approaching the last tragic 
flourish. Soon after the death of Asiaticus she formed a 
passionate attachment for Caius Silius, then consul-elect, 
who is said to have been the handsomest man in Rome. 
Silius was married to Junia Silana, the sister of Caligula’s 
first wife and daughter of the murdered Silanus . 1 Messa¬ 
lina compelled Silius to divorce the unhappy Junia, and 
after loading the former with presents and honors and 
otherwise deporting herself so as to scandalize even her 
1 Ante } page 83. 


[ ] 



CLAUDIUS 




























I 


























THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

most scandalous associates, she finally broke down the last 
barriers, and during the absence of Claudius at Ostia, 
where he was assisting at a sacrifice, the unaccountable 
Empress publicly celebrated her nuptials with Silius, with 
all the usual solemnities. “I am aware,” says Tacitus with 
great ingenuousness, “that it will appear fabulous that 
any human beings should have exhibited such recklessness 
of consequences. But I would not dress up my narrative 
with fictions to give it an air of marvel rather than relate 
what has been stated to me, or written by my seniors .” 1 

In the midst of the orgies which attended the marriage 
ceremonies, a sort of court buffoon who had climbed a 
tree, upon being asked what he saw, replied, “a terrible 
storm coming up from Ostia.” The guilty parties had 
scarcely recovered from the shock occasioned by this pro¬ 
phetic remark when couriers arrived to say that the Em¬ 
peror was actually coming. For the first time Messalina 
seemed to realize the enormity of her offence. In the gen¬ 
eral panic which ensued the wretched woman fled to her 
beautiful gardens of Lucullus, where the murder of their 
last owner was now to be expiated, and there, abandoned 
by every one except her mother, she lay grovelling on the 
earth, awaiting the expected message from her wrathful 
husband. Curious to relate, the Emperor seemed, inclined 
to overcome his resentment, and instead of ordering Mes- 
salina’s immediate execution, directed that on the next 
day she should attend and plead her cause. Whereupon 
Narcissus, fearing that the whole thing might recoil upon 
himself, rushed out and directed the tribune on duty to 
“despatch the execution by the Emperor’s command.” 

It is said that Lepida had not lived in harmony with 
Messalina during the latter’s prosperity, but now, over- 
1 Annals, xi. 27. 


[ US ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

come with compassion for the extreme necessity of her 
daughter, the mother “ persuaded her not to await the 
execution; the course of her life was run, and her only 
object now should be to die becomingly.” In the midst of 
her mother’s entreaties, her own tears and lamentations, 
and the upbraidings of a slave for her cowardice, the cen¬ 
turions arrived. She at last summoned courage to inflict 
upon herself a few feeble strokes of the dagger, when the 
sword of the tribune pierced her heart. In the entire range 
of ancient literature there can be found no more graphic 
description of the degraded condition of society under the 
Caesars than in the concluding words of the most pictu¬ 
resque writer of ancient history in relating the death of 
Messalina: “Tidings were then carried to Claudius that 
‘Messalina was no more,’ without distinguishing whether 
by her own or another’s hand; neither did he inquire, but 
called for a cup of wine, and proceeded in the usual cere¬ 
monies of the feast; nor did he indeed during the follow¬ 
ing days manifest any symptom of disgust or joy, of re¬ 
sentment or sorrow, nor in short of any human affection; 
not when he beheld the accusers of his wife exulting at 
her death; not when he looked upon her mourning chil¬ 
dren. The Senate aided in effacing her from his memory 
by decreeing ‘that from all public and private places her 
name should be rased and her images removed .’” 1 

In his first sober moments following the death of Mes¬ 
salina, when the full sense of his ignominy and shame 
swept over him, the Emperor summoned his praetorians 
and declared that having been so unhappy in his union, 
he was resolved never to marry again; “and if I should,” 
he concluded, “I give you leave to stab me.” And then, 
with his usual vacillation and acting still from the pur- 
1 Annals , xi. 38. 


[ H6 ] 


THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

poseless motive which prompted him to yield to the latest 
emotion as the invariable rule of conduct, he immediately 
turned his attention to securing another wife. The fact 
precipitated an ardent contest between the ladies of the 
Court, each of whom was ambitious for the exalted posi¬ 
tion, although none could have been unaware that a vio¬ 
lent death was the almost inevitable consequence of an 
alliance with the imperial family. Unable himself to decide 
between the rival claimants, the Emperor requested his 
ministers to deliberate upon the matter and advise him. 
Each of the favorites was naturally eager to advance his 
own interests by recommending the successful lady, who 
would thereupon become more or less indebted to him for 
her elevation. Narcissus proposed that Claudius should es¬ 
pouse his former wife Pastina, by whom he had a daughter 
still living; Callistus urged that the wealthy Lollia Pau¬ 
lina, one of the Emperor Caligula’s divorced wives, should 
be chosen; while Pallas startled the whole Court, includ¬ 
ing even the aimless and dull-witted Claudius himself, by 
proposing a marriage with Agrippina, the only surviving 
daughter of Germanicus, and consequently the Emperor’s 
own niece. 

This Agrippina, it will be remembered, had been exiled 
with her sister Julia, in the reign of Caligula, they having 
incurred the displeasure of their imperial brother. During 
the period of her exile, her first husband, the brother of 
the two Lepidas, had died, and soon after her recall by 
Claudius she had married a celebrated orator named Cris- 
pus Passienus, who had been twice consul. Passienus, who 
was very rich, had the imprudence to inform his wife that 
he had made a will constituting her his heiress. Having 
thus, as his wife concluded, fulfilled his destiny, she im¬ 
mediately disposed of him by poison, and through the 
[ ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

enormous fortune which thus came into her possession, 
reinforced by her striking beauty, her great ability, un¬ 
bending will, and utter unscrupulousness in the employ¬ 
ment of means to accomplish ends the most trivial, she 
easily became one of the most powerful, most dreaded, 
and most terrible characters in Rome. Posterity may fairly 
accord to her a position at the very apex of wickedness, 
for in cruelty and deliberate evil-doing, if not in aban¬ 
doned profligacy, she certainly surpassed Messalina, whose 
name has become proverbial for similar vices. It would be 
impossible to overestimate the curse which this woman 
must have brought upon Roman society but for the fact 
that its degeneration was already so extreme. And yet 
her ending was so tragic—the crime of her death was 
so terrible, so monstrous—that pity tempers judgment 
even in her case, and in thinking of her we are fain again 
to repeat the wonderful and divinely beautiful words of 
Him who had preached even while she was in the full 
flush of her wicked life: “He that is without sin among 
you let him first cast a stone.” 

Aided by the arts and blandishments of Agrippina, 
the arguments of the Emperor’s treasurer won the day, 
the weak resistance urged by the poor old dotard on the 
ground of near relationship being readily overcome by pro¬ 
curing from the Senate a decree legalizing marriages of 
this character . 1 Within twenty-four hours thereafter the 
marriage was consummated and the last dark chapter in 
the Emperor’s life commenced. 

By her first husband Agrippina had a son named Domi- 
tius, who was a youth of about thirteen at the time of his 

1 Until quite recently the statute law of the State of New York permitted 
—or at least did not prohibit—marriages between nephews and aunts, 
uncles and nieces. 


[ H8 ] 



CLAUDIUS 











THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

mother s third marriage. She determined that this son 
should succeed Claudius; and to accomplish this end she 
now addressed the entire resources of her powerful nature. 
The instant she was assured that Pallas had triumphed in 
her behalf, without waiting for the marriage she began 
to concert her plans. The Emperor’s daughter Octavia 
had been betrothed to Lucius Silanus, one of the great- 
great-grandsons of Augustus , 1 through which marriage 
the succession would naturally be prolonged, in case of the 
death of Britannicus. It thus manifestly became Agrip¬ 
pina’s first move to destroy Silanus and secure Octavia 
for her own son. Procuring the assistance of Vitellius , 2 
who was then censor, and quite ready to ingratiate him¬ 
self with Agrippina by furthering her plans, however base, 
a shameful accusation was brought against Silanus and 
his sister Junia Calvina, a beautiful but imprudent woman 
who had married the son of Vitellius. The Emperor, with 
his usual imbecile haste, condemned the young man un¬ 
heard, annulled the betrothal and degraded his son-in-law 
from the rank of senator. Calvina was banished, and Si¬ 
lanus, whose high spirit and elevated character indicate 
him as worthy even of the beautiful and virtuous Octavia, 
unable to bear his shame and perhaps also assured of the 
impossibility of escape, committed suicide on the day of 
the imperial nuptials. 

All things seemed bending to the ends of the ambitious 
Agrippina, who consequently pursued her policy with a 
more inflexible determination than ever. She engaged Mem- 
mius Pollio, consul-elect, to propose to the Senate that 
Claudius should be prevailed upon to marry his daughter 
Octavia to his grandnephew and stepson, Domitius; her 
object, of course, being to make the latter, in the eyes of 

1 Ante, page 112. 2 Vitellius afterwards became Emperor. 

[ H9 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

the State, more nearly the equal of Britannicus, the heir 
apparent. In this she found ready assistance from all who, 
having contributed to the death of Messalina, dreaded the 
ultimate vengeance of her son. The Senate approved, 
the weak-minded Emperor also consented, and Nero and 
the gentle Octavia, whose wishes were of course not con¬ 
sulted, were betrothed. Slowly but surely the unconscious 
Emperor was preparing for the extermination of his family. 

Thus far in the accomplishment of her ends the Em¬ 
press had proceeded with great caution, feeling her way 
carefully and refraining entirely from the use of violence. 
But she was now so firmly established that it seemed per¬ 
fectly safe to indulge a little in the open gratification of 
her cruel nature, and a victim had already been selected. 
She had never forgiven Lollia Paulina for jeopardizing 
her own ambitions by aspiring to marry Claudius, and her 
hatred, always implacable, was in this instance intensified 
by both jealousy and covetousness, her defeated rival be¬ 
ing immensely rich. Lollia’s fortune was enormous, Pliny 
declaring that he had seen her on an ordinary occa¬ 
sion wearing jewels valued at forty millions of sesterces 
(£ 400 , 000 ). As the sentence of banishment implied for¬ 
feiture, this immense fortune was ultimately enjoyed by 
Agrippina. Witnesses were suborned charging Lollia with 
consulting magicians and oracles concerning her ambitious 
views. As usual, no hearing was granted the accused, the 
Emperor recommending to the Senate that she should be 
banished. This sentence was immediately carried into ef¬ 
fect; but Agrippina was not satisfied until her hated rival 
was killed and her head produced for inspection by the 
first lady in the State, who wished to establish its iden¬ 
tity by an examination of the teeth. 

Having thus refreshed herself, Agrippina returned to her 

[ 120 ] 


THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

original purposes with renewed energy, her next aim being 
to secure the formal adoption of her son by the Emperor. 
Through the influence of her corrupt associate, the detes¬ 
table Pallas, this important step was also accomplished. 
The foolish Emperor yielded to the hollow arguments 
advanced by his minister: that the adoption was desir¬ 
able to provide for the exigency of the commonwealth 
and support the infancy of Britannicus with a collateral 
stay; that Tiberius notwithstanding he had a son of his 
own adopted Germanicus, the deified Augustus likewise, 
though possessed of grandsons upon whom to rely, having 
raised to power the sons of his wife. With the consent 
of Claudius a law was enacted decreeing the adoption of 
Domitius into the Claudian family under the name of 
Nero—the title of Augusta being at the same time con¬ 
ferred upon his mother. The adoption of Nero was said to 
have been the first in the Claudian family in over two 
hundred years. It proved to be the last also, for by it the 
Emperor Claudius sealed the doom of his race. His own 
death had already been decided upon, while the ill-fated 
Britannicus, who was two years younger than his adoptive 
brother, was not long to survive his murdered father. 

The accession of Nero was now assured, the death of 
Claudius alone interposing as the last obstacle to the tri¬ 
umphant policy of the Empress. How feeble the barrier 
was none knew better than Agrippina herself; and per¬ 
haps with a view of acquiring a proper state of mind in 
which to accomplish its removal, she determined upon a 
little preliminary exercise of her powers. This time the 
victim was of the blood of Caesar, in the person of Lepida, 
mother of the late Empress, cousin german to Claudius, 
and aunt of Nero, being one of the two sisters of the 
latter’s father. For Lepida the Empress had long cher- 
[ 121 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

ished a bitter jealousy and hatred. During the exile of the 
latter, in the reign of Caligula, her son Nero had found a 
home with his aunt, and ever since the dawn of his new 
fortunes there had been a silent but none the less power¬ 
ful contention between the two women to acquire the 
first position in his confidence and regard. An attempt to 
secure the ascendency over a son for whom her own con¬ 
summate art alone had ensured the prize, would in itself 
have been sufficient to arouse all the tiger-like instincts of 
Agrippina. But her hatred was intensified—and for the 
same reason reciprocated by the other—because of the 
striking similarity in both the position and character of 
the two women. Of the same degree of nobility, equally 
beautiful, almost equally rich, of about the same age, each 
of them hot and violent in temper, their reputations alike 
ruined and lost, and competitors in vice, as in everything 
else, Agrippina exceeded her rival alone in the added 
power of her position in the imperial household. With re¬ 
gard to Nero, on the other hand, the advantage seems to 
have been with Lepida, who had gained his confidence in 
early youth, while his mother was in exile, by liberal 
if not actually caressing and flattering treatment; while 
from Agrippina he had until recently received only stern¬ 
ness and threats. But the crafty Agrippina had been to 
the oracle. She knew herself. In the consciousness of her 
power she did not lose sight of her weakness, and, like 
every successful leader, realized the wisdom of averting a 
threatened danger before it should become uncontrollable. 
She was at this moment the stronger; the ascendency of 
her rival over Nero profited Lepida nothing as long as 
the young prince was himself dependent. But as it might 
easily be different when he should actually become Caesar, 
the conclusion was obvious that in order to destroy the 
[ 122 ] 







► 


MESSALIXA 











THE FAMILY OF CLAUDIUS 

one existing menace to her dream of absolute power, a 
dominion which was to be exercised through control of 
the future Emperor, her rival must be crushed before 
Nero came to the throne. As in the case of the last vic¬ 
tim, the destruction of Lepida was accomplished through 
an accusation of magic—against which to the mind of 
the shivering Claudius there never could be any answer; 
which is doubtless the reason why sentence was in such 
cases pronounced by him without opportunity for defence 
on the part of the accused. Lepida was condemned to 
death, her great estate, like that of Lollia, going to swell 
the already immense fortune which the murder of her sec¬ 
ond husband had brought to the Empress, whose wealth 
was now not far short of the imperial treasure itself. Do- 
mitia Lepida, her remaining sister-in-law, and who had 
also been the first wife of Passienus, although an object 
of jealousy to the Empress, escaped for the present, and 
ultimately managed to keep out of Agrippina’s reach, but 
only to perish miserably at the hand of Nero . 1 

Her rivals overthrown, her vengeance satisfied, at least 
temporarily, the continuance of her power assured, and 
every detail of her plan having been accomplished pre¬ 
cisely as arranged, Agrippina calmly approached the last 
of her labors—this time one of pure love; for was not a 
place among the immortal gods for her cherished husband 
the immediate object and her only son to be the direct 
beneficiary ? 

She had long accustomed herself to the thought of poi¬ 
soning her husband, and after careful deliberation had 
decided to employ an agent which should be instanta¬ 
neous in its operation, in order that there might be at once 
neither miscarriage nor the opportunity for discovery or 

1 Post , page 148. 


[ 123 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

suspicions which the use of a slower poison would be apt 
to furnish. Among the nefarious agents with whom the 
Empress had abundantly supplied herself, was a woman 
named Locusta, who had been a witness against some 
persons guilty of poisoning. Locusta’s life had been spared, 
but she remained substantially a prisoner—retained by 
the imperial family, as people said, and as posterity is 
bound to believe, as an experienced artist whose services 
might occasionally be desired. At the command of Agrip¬ 
pina, Locusta prepared a powerful and subtle poison, 
which was poured over some mushrooms, of which the 
Emperor was inordinately fond. The dish was served to 
the unsuspecting Claudius by one of his trusty servants 
in the presence of Agrippina, and was freely partaken of 
by the Emperor; but to the dismay of his wife, after tem¬ 
porarily yielding to the effects of the poison, for some 
unaccountable reason the victim gave indications of re¬ 
gaining consciousness. A physician named Xenophon, an¬ 
other of the vile instruments of Agrippina, was in atten¬ 
dance, and through the medium of a poisoned feather 
which he thrust down the throat of the struggling Caesar, 
the impious deed was finally accomplished. The Emperor 
was dead. Agrippina had triumphed, and by a murder the 
most deliberate and unnatural, to which, although not a 
direct party, her son was apparently privy, Nero succeeded 
to the throne to the exclusion of the rightful heir, and 
became the last Emperor of the house of Caesar. 


[ 124 ] 


CHAPTER X 
NERO, THE FIFTH EMPEROR 
From 54 A. D. to 69 A. D. 

T HE descent of Nero embraces many celebrated names 
in Roman annals, both of families and individuals. 
Through his mother, Agrippina, he was descended from 
the great Claudian family, which, after centuries of promi¬ 
nence in the State, had reached the summit of its gran¬ 
deur through the marriage of Livia with Augustus, and 
the consequent succession to the purple of her son Tibe¬ 
rius. His mother’s mother, the wife of the idolized Ger- 
manicus, was a granddaughter of the divine Augustus; so 
that Nero himself was a great-great-grandson of the first 
Emperor. His relationship to the imperial house was also 
traced both through his paternal grandmother and his 
maternal great-grandmother, the elder and younger An¬ 
tonias, who were the children of Augustus’s sister Octavia 
by her second husband, Mark Antony. On the side of his 
father he was descended from a celebrated family called 
Ahenobarbi, itself sprung from the race of the Domitii, 
one of the noblest of the Roman gentes. The Ahenobarbi 
since the time of Lucius Domitius, the founder of the 
family, had enjoyed the honors of seven consulships, one 
triumph, and two censorships, and many of them left repu¬ 
tations for noble qualities, traces of which, however, we 
vainly seek for in the character of their imperial descen¬ 
dant. The family cognomen, Ahenobarbus, was derived 
from the prevailing bright red color of their beards, a dis¬ 
tinction which continued to manifest itself even in the gen¬ 
eration of Nero. The Emperor’s great-great-grandfather, 
[ 125 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Cneius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was a masterful overbear¬ 
ing soldier, of whom the orator Crassus said, “No wonder 
he has a brazen beard whose face is of iron and whose 
heart is lead.” The next Cneius, son of the last-mentioned, 
was a man of sullen temper and inconstant character, who 
fell at Pharsalia after fighting on both sides in the great 
contest for the empire of the world. His son, also called 
Cneius, after narrowly escaping the general condemnation 
which followed the death of the great Csesar, lived to fill 
the highest offices under the Emperor Augustus. His son 
Domitius, the grandfather of Nero, was a man of great 
arrogance, prodigality, and cruelty, and it is said that he 
displayed such barbarity in his gladiatorial and wild beast 
shows, which occurred both in the circus and the various 
wards of the city, that Augustus was compelled to restrain 
him by public edict. 

The cruel disposition of his grandfather manifested 
itself in the Emperor’s father, Cneius Domitius, who is 
described as “a man of execrable character in every part 
of his life.” He once killed one of his freedmen for refus¬ 
ing to drink as much as he ordered him, and at another 
time, while driving in the Appian Way, purposely whipped 
up his horses and crushed a poor boy under his chariot. 
Shortly before the death of the Emperor Tiberius, Cneius 
was accused of treason, adulteries, and incest with his sis¬ 
ter Lepida (the mother of Messalina), but escaped in the 
distraction of the next Emperor’s succession, and soon 
after died. The character of his wife, Agrippina, has been 
sufficiently indicated in the preceding chapter . 1 

Every element of character was thus apparently present 
in the ancestry of Nero, destined to become for all ages 
the personification of monstrous vice and crime. Among 

1 Ante, page 117. 


C 126 ] 



MESSALINA 











NERO 

his ancestors were those who had controlled the destinies 
of the civilized world; whose mighty deeds had carried the 
power of the Roman arms among distant barbarous na¬ 
tions, impressing upon them a character which after the 
lapse of so many centuries is still discernible; whose vices 
had dug the graves of entire dynasties; whose virtues had 
been embalmed in the memories which even yet survive 
to persuade us that all Roman women were not vile and 
all Roman men utterly corrupt. Augustus, the deified Em¬ 
peror; Mark Antony, the splendid sacrifice of manhood 
upon the altar of a sensual attraction; Agrippa, the great 
minister of the wonderful Augustan era; Drusus Germani- 
cus, and his son, the great popular hero; the long lines of 
the Claudii and the Domitii, soldiers and statesmen of re¬ 
pute both good and ill; Julia, the stately sister of the Great 
Caesar; the noble Octavia; the proud and haughty but 
virtuous Agrippina; the dissolute daughter of the first 
Emperor; the beautiful Antonia; the awful figure of the 
Augusta; and his own mother, whose calculating wicked¬ 
ness and deliberate crime had finally brought him to the 
steps of the throne! Cast into the refining pot of the most 
terribly corrupt and demoralizing Court which ever con¬ 
trolled a so-called civilized State, these jarring and dis¬ 
cordant elements had in some way fused and from the 
crucible at last appears the result of five generations of 
intermarrying among the most exclusive aristocracy the 
world ever saw—and behold! a Nero; who murdered his 
mother, his brother, his sister, his wives, and his unborn 
child; who burned Rome; who destroyed the very ashes of 
purity; and who finally tried even to exterminate virtue 
itself. 

Nero was born at Antium on the fifteenth day of De¬ 
cember in the year 37 a. d. At the time of his birth the 
[ 127 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

first year of the reign of his uncle, the Emperor Caligula, 
was drawing to a close, and it is astonishing to learn that 
notwithstanding the complete demoralization of society 
induced by the third Emperor, and which must neces¬ 
sarily have deformed the education of the young prince, 
he seems to have at first manifested no mean degree of 
character and promise. But the saying attributed to his 
father Domitius, that “nothing but what was detestable 
and pernicious to the public could ever be produced of him 
and Agrippina,” proved in the end a more correct prog¬ 
nostic than the promise which he displayed as a mere boy, 
while performing his part in the Circensian games, and the 
merciful disposition which he indicated a little later when, 
being called upon for his first imperial subscription to the 
sentence of a condemned criminal, he uttered the pious 
wish that “he had never learned to read and write.” 

His father died when he was three years old, leaving 
Nero (or Domitius, as he was called until his adoption by 
Claudius) heir to one-third of his possessions; the remain¬ 
ing two-thirds being left to the reigning Emperor, from 
the customary prudential motives of wealthy Roman tes¬ 
tators, who sought in this way to ensure at least a por¬ 
tion of their estate to their posterity. In the present case 
Caligula seized the whole, and supplemented this act of in¬ 
justice to his young kinsman by shortly afterwards banish¬ 
ing his mother and confiscating all of her property. 1 The 
penniless and abandoned child thereupon found a home 
with his father’s sister, the elder Lepida, whose daughter 
Messalina about this time became the wife of Claudius, a 
great-uncle of the young Domitius. There is a tradition 
that Messalina afterwards employed assassins to strangle 
Nero, in whom she foresaw a probable rival of her son 

1 Ante , page 88. 


[ 128 ] 


NERO 

Britannicus; and the story goes that the would-be mur¬ 
derers were frightened away by a snake which crept from 
under the cushion upon which the sleeping child lay. 
Whether true or false,—and it contains the elements of 
probability,—the story undoubtedly contributed to the 
hatred which in after years Nero cherished against his 
cousin, and which was accentuated by the latter’s refusal 
to address his adoptive brother by any other name than 
that of the despised “ Ahenobarbus.” The proud young 
Claudian had undoubtedly been prompted to this irritat¬ 
ing conduct by his preceptors, either already secretly in 
the pay of Agrippina, or unwisely seeking to provoke a 
difference between the two young men which might ulti¬ 
mately advance their own interests; and upon Nero’s com¬ 
plaining of the alleged insult to Claudius, the latter, with 
his usual display of imbecility, punished all the most vir¬ 
tuous of his son’s tutors with exile or death and replaced 
them with the minions of Agrippina. And yet the pitiable 
old man seemed not unaware of the nefarious designs of 
his wife; for he frequently prayed that “Britannicus might 
speedily attain to maturity and vigor and put to flight the 
enemies of his father! Ay, and be revenged even on the 
murderers of his mother.” 

But the arts of Agrippina invariably calmed her hus¬ 
band’s suspicions, and the betrothal and marriage of Nero 
with the Emperor’s .daughter Octavia effectually prevented 
any diversion which the friends of Britannicus might other¬ 
wise have made in his favor. The marriage ceremony hav¬ 
ing been performed, as in the case of the accession of the 
second Emperor, it then remained only to secure the sup¬ 
port of the army; and this Agrippina easily accomplished 
by inducing the Emperor to remove Rufius Crispinus, 
who was known to be devoted to the children of Mes- 
[ 129 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

salina, and intrust the command of the praetorian cohorts 
to Burrhus Afranius, an incorruptible officer of high re¬ 
pute, but who naturally inclined towards the interests of 
those who procured his advancement. 

Everything now being in readiness, the arts of Locusta 
were invoked and Claudius was destroyed. 1 The instant 
his death was assured, Agrippina gave her instructions to 
Burrhus, who at once made ready to conduct Nero to the 
cohort, which, according to custom, was on guard at the 
palace where the Emperor was supposed to be dying. But 
an unexpected obstacle arose; the omens were unpropi- 
tious, and it became necessary to postpone the event until 
they should become more favorable. The situation was 
now extremely critical, not to say dangerous. Let it once 
be known that Claudius was dead, and the adherents of 
Britannicus might still arouse the people and prejudice 
the cohorts in favor of the rightful successor. 2 But the 
indomitable Agrippina was equal to the emergency. No 
one but Xenophon, Nero, Burrhus, and herself knew that 
the Emperor was actually dead. The Senate, which had 
been assembled, was still in session, while vows for the 
Emperors recovery were even then being offered by the 
pontiffs and consuls. Emulating the example of her great¬ 
grandmother upon a similar occasion, 3 the Empress set a 
strict guard at every approach to the palace, and then 

1 Ante, page 124. 

2 It is of course well understood that hereditary succession was not ad¬ 
mitted by the Romans and that the head of the State was supposed to 
be elective, the Senate pretending to be the depositary of the public 
mind, although from an early period in the Empire this function was 
practically usurped by the army, which, however, respected the Caesarean 
line as long as it lasted. And it has already been pointed out that the 
rule of hereditary succession substantially obtained. Ante , page 74. 

8 Ante, page 44. 


[ 130 ] 



OCT A VIA SISTElt OF AUGUSTUS 











NERO 

from time to time gave out bulletins of the Emperor’s im¬ 
proving condition. His three children, Antonia, O eta via, 
and Britannicus, were detained by their stepmother in her 
own apartment—Britannicus, who was wild to go to his 
father’s chamber, being actually clasped in the arms of the 
Empress to prevent his leaving the room. 

But at last the omens were propitious. The death of the 
Emperor was announced by Xenophon; the palace gates 
were thrown open, and, preceded by Burrhus, Nero, mag¬ 
nificently clothed, and beaming with youth, health, and 
gratified pride and vanity, was borne to the cohorts, who 
received him with shouts and conducted him to the prae¬ 
torian camp, where amid the wildest excitement he was 
saluted as Emperor. In the palace the poor young prince, 
released at last from the false embraces of his sinister 
stepmother, and accompanied by Octavia, ran to the place 
where lay the unwatched remains of imperial Caesar, and 
there, with a prophetic vision of their own impending 
doom, the two young orphans in a passion of grief and 
misery cast themselves down by the side of him who with 
all his weakness and miserable wrong-doing had loved his 
children, and in his own blind way would have protected 
them until the end. 

It was on the thirteenth of October in the year 54 a. d. 
that Nero was proclaimed by the soldiers, the Senate 
speedily ratifying the praetorians’ decree. The circum¬ 
stances of his accession bear a remarkable similarity to 
those which attended that of the second Emperor. Clau¬ 
dius was known to have been poisoned by his wife; Augus¬ 
tus was supposed to have been by his. The death of each 
was kept secret until matters were arranged for securing 
the Empire to an adopted son, whose interests had been 
insidiously advanced by a shrewdly wicked mother to the 
[ 131 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

exclusion of the descendant who was rightfully entitled to 
the throne. Into the future also were the points of simi¬ 
larity projected; for as Postumus Agrippa had fallen an 
early victim to the jealousy and hatred of a usurping 
adoptive brother, Britannicus met a similar fate at the 
hands of Nero; who himself likewise finally succumbed 
to the violence of a slave even as Tiberius eventually per¬ 
ished by the hand of Macro. One point of divergence in¬ 
deed there was, in that Li via, the central figure in the 
crime of Tiberius’s succession, lived to enjoy the fruits of 
her wickedness and to meet a peaceful end, after receiv¬ 
ing the plaudits of the people and the title of Augusta, in 
recognition of her exalted services to the State; whereas 
her terrible descendant, although receiving the applause, 
securing the title, and emulating the magnificence of her 
great-grandmother, in the end tasted the full bitterness of 
the prophet’s saying in the discovery that her child was 
thankless, and that the horrible crime of matricide was his 
final recognition of all the iniquities with which she had 
burdened her soul for him. 

But now it was otherwise. She was at the summit of 
her accomplishments and the height of her power. She 
had come within a single step of rounding out the full 
possibility of relationship in the nearest degree to the 
imperial person; she had been the sister, the wife, the 
mother of an Emperor, and if Germanicus had received 
his dues the measure of possibility would have been full. 1 
Everything was at last triumphant for this “ Best of Mo- 

1 In his tragedy of Britannicus, Racine accords her the full measure, in the 
passage: 

“Moi, fill q, femme, sceur et mere, de vos maitres.” 

Poetical license may justify the line, as Agrippina was the great-grand¬ 
daughter of Augustus. 


[ 132 ] 


NERO 

thers,” which was the new word given to the tribune of 
the guard on the first day of the reign of Nero. 

And thus came to the throne, in the seventeenth year 
of his age, and scarce a generation after the death of the 
despised King of the Jews, the last Emperor of the house 
of Caesar, fast tottering now to the ruins from which that 
other kingdom was to rise enduringly. In the ruins of that 
house, the “grandeur of human nature” may readily be 
discovered. 

Nero was of short stature and rather thick set, with slen¬ 
der legs, and although constitutionally sound, was neither 
athletic nor active. His head was large and covered with 
a mass of yellowish hair, which he wore in rings, cut one 
above the other. In early life his features, although effemi¬ 
nate, were agreeable, if not actually handsome. But in later 
years the dull gray eyes, the thick bull neck and double 
chin, a sallow and unhealthy complexion, and that inde¬ 
scribable stamp of coarseness with which unchecked dis¬ 
sipation and openly indulged vice unfailingly brand the 
countenance, served to render him anything but attrac¬ 
tive. In attire he seems to have been extremely careless, 
frequently appearing in public in the loose garb which he 
wore at table, without girdle or shoes, although with custo¬ 
mary extravagance he never wore the same garment twice. 

At an early age he was inculcated by Seneca with a 
taste for the fine arts, music and poetry ultimately shar¬ 
ing the remnants of affections which were in the main de¬ 
voted to sensual enjoyments and the gratification of the 
most cruel instincts and vicious desires. The vainest school¬ 
boy could not covet popular applause more than Nero 
craved it for his musical and poetical efforts, failure to 
appreciate which inevitably resulted in rousing the Em¬ 
peror’s anger and not infrequently was punished by death. 
[ 133 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Extravagantly vain of his mediocre talents and possessed 
of an insatiable desire to immortalize his name, he even 
descended to compete upon the public stage with ordi¬ 
nary minstrels and actors; and as the honors were of 
course invariably accorded the royal buffoon, he soon be¬ 
came actually convinced that his gifts were of the divine 
order. There can be no doubt that the misery of his death 
was enhanced by the thought to which in the last hours 
he so frequently gave expression: that a great artist was 
perishing untimely. 

Passionately fond of horses and chariot, he was a con¬ 
stant attendant at the exhibitions of the smaller circus, 
although frequently wearing a disguise from a sense of 
shame, to which on occasions of the most flagrant wrong¬ 
doing he was an entire stranger; and finally, in view of all 
the people and amidst the most tumultuous applause, he 
drove his chariot in the Circus Maximus. It was his one 
solitary display of manly attributes whatsoever. 

In the use of riches Nero emulated the example of the 
Emperor Caligula, who was openly praised by his nephew 
for squandering so quickly the immense treasure which the 
successor of Augustus had accumulated. Nero’s extrava¬ 
gance was almost incredible; it is said that the expenses 
of entertaining Tiridates, who was nine months in Rome 
as guest of the State, was eight hundred thousand ses¬ 
terces a day; equivalent in the aggregate to £2,160,000. 
Suetonius (whose statements must, however, be taken 
cumgrano) informs us that the Emperor had been known 
to stake four hundred thousand sesterces (£4000) on a 
throw of the dice, and that he never travelled with less 
than a thousand baggage carts. His extravagance reached 
its limits in the construction of his “Golden House.” The 
palace of the Csesars, as enlarged by Augustus from the 
[ 134 ] 



MARK ANTONY 












NERO 

dimensions of a private house, and extended by both Ti¬ 
berius and Caligula, was still confined to the Palatine 
Hill. Nero continued it to the Esquiline Hill, and as 
finally rebuilt, after its destruction by the fire,- its gran¬ 
deur and magnificence are beyond modem conception. 
The author of the “Caesars” says: “Of its dimensions and 
furniture it may be sufficient to say this much: The porch 
was so high that there stood in it a colossal statue of him¬ 
self a hundred and twenty feet in height; and the space 
included in it was so ample, that it had triple porticos a 
mile in length, and a lake like a sea, surrounded with 
buildings which had the appearance of a city. Within its 
area were corn fields, vineyards, pastures, and woods, con¬ 
taining a vast number of animals of various kinds, both 
wild and tame. In other parts it was entirely overlaid 
with gold, and adorned with jewels and mother-of-pearl. 
The supper rooms were vaulted, and compartments of 
the ceilings, inlaid with ivory, were made to revolve, and 
scatter flowers; while they contained pipes which shed 
unguents upon the guests. The chief banqueting room was 
circular, and revolved perpetually, night and day, in imi¬ 
tation of the motion of the celestial bodies. The baths 
were supplied with water from the sea and the Albula. 
Upon the dedication of this magnificent house after it 
was finished, all he said in approval of it was, ‘that he had 
now a dwelling fit for a man.’” 1 

During the first four years of his reign, with the excep¬ 
tion of the heartless murder of Britannicus, the Emperor 
Nero seems to have ruled not only with mildness, but 
with a show of justice, wisdom, and even temperance. 
Trajan does not hesitate to declare that these years were 
proverbial in succeeding ages for the wisdom, clemency, 

1 Suetonius, Nero , xxxi. 


[ 135 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

and happiness by which they were distinguished. But at 
the expiration of that interval the naturally evil instincts 
of the Emperor were gradually brought into play—largely, 
as it appears, through the malign influence of Poppasa. 
Relieved from all restraint by the death of his mother, the 
baser inclinations of his nature speedily triumphed over 
the weak opposition of a false manhood, which may have 
been aroused by the early precepts of Seneca and the 
rough but virile example of Burrhus; and during the re¬ 
mainder of his reign the Emperor’s conduct was a mix¬ 
ture of puerilities, senseless extravagance, cruelty, lust, and 
murder. Although there have not been wanting attempts 
to show that the last of the Ceesars was not the depraved 
and ferocious monster painted by the fathers of Roman 
history, the effort has failed. The character of Nero can 
be whitewashed no more than the character of Washing¬ 
ton can be blackened; in these two respects at least the 
conclusions of posterity must remain unchanged. Augus¬ 
tine was right in speaking of Nero as the most finished 
pattern of wicked rulers; and there is small reason to 
wonder that for years the ignorant and credulous cher¬ 
ished a belief that the son of Agrippina yet lived as Anti¬ 
christ and would return to reign over the kingdom of 
error when the full measure of human iniquity should be 
fulfilled. Certain it is that no one possessing the most 
shadowy instincts of humanity can read even that portion 
of the history of Nero which is absolutely undisputed, 
without being moved to the anger, disgust, and abhor¬ 
rence for which there is but a single apt expression— 
“Anathema” 


[ 136 ] 


CHAPTER XI 
THE FAMILY OF NERO 

T HE first wife of the Emperor Nero was Octavia, 
the only daughter of the Emperor Claudius and his 
fifth wife, Messalina. Octavia was thus related to her hus¬ 
band both through her father and her mother, Claudius 
being uncle to Nero’s mother, Agrippina, while Messa- 
lina’s mother, Lepida, was the sister of Cneius Domitius, 
Nero’s father. 

Octavia was born in the year 42 a. d., two years before 
her father became Emperor, and while yet a mere child 
she was betrothed to Lucius Silanus, one of the three 
great-great-grandsons of Augustus, in the direct line of the 
two Julias. The suicide of Silanus, after his disgrace by 
Claudius, the murder of his father by Messalina, and the 
subsequent betrothal and marriage of Octavia and Nero 
have already been related. 1 Upon the accession of Nero, 
the invariable murder which signalized the commencement 
of a new reign found its victim in the family of Silanus. 

Lucius Silanus, the betrothed of Octavia, had two bro¬ 
thers, one named Torquatus, the other Marcus Junius. The 
latter is said to have lived in such a state of indolence that 
the Emperor Caligula sneeringly nicknamed him “the 
Golden Sheep.” But as posterity may well be suspicious 
of the virtue applauded by Caligula, so in the object of 
his contempt we may expect to find evidence of decided 
worth. It is therefore cause for no surprise to learn that 
Silanus was a man of unblemished character; which fact, 
together with his relationship to the Caesars, in the direct 

1 Ante, pages 112 and 119. 


[ 137 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

line of the divine Augustus, rendered him an object both 
of suspicion and fear to Agrippina, who had murdered his 
brother Lucius. The death of Silanus occurred so soon 
after the accession of Nero that it was doubtless planned 
by the Empress in advance of that event. Marcus Junius 
was proconsul of Asia at the time, and poison was openly 
administered to him at a banquet by two revenue farmers 
of the Emperor. Nero, however, must be acquitted of 
complicity in this crime, responsibility for which rests 
solely upon Agrippina and her heartless instruments, one 
of whom was a freedman and the other a Roman knight. 
But the evil passions of this apparently mild and gentle 
Emperor, who at first grieved to sign the death-warrant 
of a hardened criminal, were only sleeping. Ten years 
later, when the product of Agrippina and Cneius Domitius 
had, in the prophetic language of the latter, indeed mani¬ 
fested himself “detestable and pernicious,” Torquatus, the 
last male of this generation of the Silani, was driven to an 
ignominious death by his imperial kinsman. The persecu¬ 
tion of Torquatus, who was of the noble Junian family, in 
addition to being descended from Augustus, was accounted 
for merely because of the splendor of his lineage. He was 
accused of being “prodigal in his bounties”; and it was 
charged that he had “no other resource than in revolu¬ 
tion ; and that already he kept men of no mean rank, with 
the style of secretaries, accountants, treasurers ; names be¬ 
longing to the imperial function and indicating prepara¬ 
tions for assuming it.” Torquatus saw that his doom was 
sealed and calmly opened the veins of both arms. His 
death was speedily followed by that of his nephew Lucius, 
only son of Marcus Junius, and the last of his race, the 
circumstances of whose destruction will be related in an¬ 
other connection. 


C 138 ] 


CLEOPATRA 




















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THE FAMILY OF NERO 

The marriage of Nero and Octavia occurred about a 
year before the death of Claudius, Nero being at the time 
in his sixteenth year, while Octavia was scarcely more than 
eleven years old. In all the dread history of the family 
of Caesar there is perhaps no sadder story than that of 
Octavia. Her noble birth, her sweet and gentle disposi¬ 
tion, the tenderness of the relation existing between the 
ill-fated Britannicus and herself, the ignominious ending of 
her mother, the tragic death of her father, her compulsory 
marriage to Nero,—the son of the murderer of her first 
betrothed, whose noble and engaging qualities had gained 
her childish affection, and whose self-imposed death, under 
a shameful accusation, must have deeply shocked her pure 
and sensitive spirit,—the terrible death of her brother, 
followed by years of indescribable anguish culminating in 
a pitiable death at the hands of her husband, the destroyer 
of her race; in fact, all the circumstances of her short life 
were at once so full of horrors and so touchingly pathetic 
that it only needed the assurance (for which there seems 
to be a foundation of fact) that Octavia was a Christian, 
to arouse our deepest sympathy for her and our endless 
abhorrence of the monster who dragged her through the 
mire. In the deaths of Thrasea and Octavia, Nero might 
well have thought, from the standpoint of paganism, that 
he had accomplished his wish to destroy virtue itself. 

All the sweet and lovely traits of Octavia, which, as 
she came to maturity and surrounded as she was by the 
temptations of an innately depraved and vicious Court, 
had deepened into a genuinely beautiful character, failed 
to attract Nero, although not yet fully launched upon his 
career of unchecked wickedness. His affections were soon 
engaged by a beautiful freedwoman named Acte, whose 
influence over the young Emperor, combined with that 
[ 139 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

of Seneca, Burrhus, and a young man who was afterwards 
the Emperor Otho, speedily gave indication of undermin¬ 
ing the power of Agrippina, which had theretofore been 
supreme. The rage and fury of the latter upon discovering 
what was going on were such as might be expected from 
her passionate nature and imperious spirit. If she had con¬ 
fined herself to her usual system of menace and terrorism, 
the breach might have been repaired; but in an unguarded 
moment she awoke the dormant hyena in her son by de¬ 
claring in the Emperor’s hearing that “Britannicus was 
now grown up 1 and was worthy to succeed to that Empire 
of his father which an adopted son swayed by trampling 
upon his mother.” And then after accounting the many 
atrocities she had perpetrated for his sake, she turned di¬ 
rectly to her son and, heaping reproaches upon him, with 
violent gesticulations declared that “by the providence of 
the gods and her own forethought one resource remained 
to her—her stepson was still alive; with him she would 
repair to the camp where on the one side would be heard 
the daughter of Germanicus and on the other the impo¬ 
tent Burrhus and the exiled Seneca, 2 one with a maimed 
hand and the other with the tongue of a pedagogue press¬ 
ing their claim to govern the world.” 3 

Nero was alarmed at this outbreak on the part of a 
woman whose impetuosity and determination were so well 
known, and who had approved herself capable of conceiv¬ 
ing and executing whatsoever crime to accomplish her 
ends. All the latent deviltry in his essentially evil nature 

1 Britannicus was nearly fourteen years old at the time of his death. 

2 Seneca, who was accused of an intrigue with Julia, the daughter of 
Germanicus, was banished by the Emperor Claudius to the isle of Corsica. 
He had been recalled by the influence of Agrippina. 

3 Annals , xiii. 14. 


[ 140 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 

was awakened by his fear, and he determined to forestall 
his mother in the use of her own weapons. He was the 
more ready to destroy Britannicus because at the festival 
of the Saturnalia the latter in singing had acquitted him¬ 
self in so creditable a manner as to deeply arouse the 
anger of the Emperor, who, priding himself upon his own 
voice, had all the mean jealousy of others’ success so com¬ 
monly displayed by ambitious mediocrity. He at once in¬ 
voked the aid of the terrible Locusta, 1 who prepared a 
poison which was administered to Britannicus by his tu¬ 
tors. It failed of effect, and the Emperor in a rage threat¬ 
ened the sorceress with immediate execution if she did 
not furnish a poison which would cause instant death; and 
a more deadly compound was thereupon concocted in a 
chamber adjoining that of the Emperor. 

That evening at dinner the deed was done. Britannicus 
was reclining at the special table accorded him in right 
of his princely extraction, in full sight of the numerous 
assemblage which nightly surrounded the table of Cassar 
in the Golden House. A cup of drink, after first being 
tasted by an official in attendance for that purpose, was 
handed to the young prince, who, finding the liquor scald¬ 
ing hot, directed that some cold water be added. The 
poison was contained in the latter and its action was so 
powerful that at the first draught Britannicus was bereft 
of speech and expired almost immediately. Even the hard¬ 
ened associates of the dissolute tyrant and his imperial 
Court were stricken with consternation at so terrible and 
unexpected an exhibition of his heartless savagery, and 
many fled hastily from the apartment, forgetful that such 
a breach of decorum was punishable with death by Csesar, 
thus outraged. The more experienced courtiers, however, 

1 Locusta prepared the poison which destroyed Claudius. Ante, page 124. 

[ 141 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

kept their places, anxiously awaiting their cue from the 
Emperor, who, maintaining his careless reclining posture, 
calmly declared that “he himself used to be so affected 
by reason of the falling sickness, with which Britannicus 
had been from early childhood afflicted; and that by de¬ 
grees his sight and senses would return.” So that after 
a short silence, in the midst of which the dead boy was 
carried from the room, the delights of the banquet were 
resumed, the orphaned Octavia, who had long ago mas¬ 
tered the “peace of suspense,” by learning to conceal 
every natural affection, proudly hiding her grief and tor¬ 
ture, while regarding with an eye apparently cold and 
unmoved the removal of all that was mortal of the only 
surviving relative she had loved and for whose love she 
cared, the last male of the proud Claudian race, which 
for centuries had contributed to the Roman grandeur in 
which its own greatness blazed so brightly. 

It was different with Agrippina. The dismay with which 
she had witnessed the death of Britannicus amounted to 
positive terror, and vainly she strove to suppress her con¬ 
sternation and alarm. For to her penetrating mind.the 
conviction came with all the suddenness of her stepson’s 
death that her domination of the boy Emperor was gone 
forever; and close upon this reflection followed the dark¬ 
some thought that from the poisoning of Britannicus to the 
crime of matricide was but a step for one who could strike 
so quickly, so openly, with such terrible effectiveness and 
such freedom from compunction as the “detestable and 
pernicious” son, whose heartless laughter rang in her ter¬ 
rified ears while the door had scarce closed upon the body 
of his victim. 

It was her first manifestation of weakness during a long 
life of danger and vicissitudes, and was an indication that 
[ 142 ] 







AGRIPPINA MOTHER OF NERO 









THE FAMILY OF NERO 

fortune was making ready to leave her, who was at last 
driven to admit distrust as to her own powers. But al¬ 
though the talisman was thus lost, the old courage and 
inflexibility were by no means gone; and attaching herself 
to Octavia, as closely as the coldly impassive but gentle 
sister of Britannicus would permit, she practised all of 
her arts to build up among the few remaining nobles a 
party which in an emergency might be rallied to the sup¬ 
port of herself under a new leader. 

The throw was a desperate one, and it lost. By her pre¬ 
vious conduct the daughter of Germanicus had made bit¬ 
ter enemies, and in the hour of her misfortune these did 
not scruple to seek their revenge. It was not necessary for 
the Emperor to employ spies to learn of his mother’s new 
schemes, and before long the guards which had attended 
her as the widow of Claudius and mother of the reigning 
Emperor were withdrawn. This mark of disrespect was 
speedily followed by Agrippina’s forced removal from the 
palace to a house at a considerable distance which had 
once been occupied by Antonia, the Emperor’s grand¬ 
mother. 

One night while Nero was carousing as usual, an actor 
named Paris, who was one of the freedmen of Agrippina’s 
bitter rival, Domitia Lepida, by whom he was undoubt¬ 
edly instigated, entered hastily and with feigned terror 
informed his imperial master that Agrippina was conspir¬ 
ing to overturn the State in favor of Rubellius Plautus, 
son of Rubellius Blandus and Julia, the granddaughter of 
Tiberius. The enraged and terrified Emperor determined 
to put to death both Agrippina and Plautus without 
waiting for morning even; but was finally prevailed upon 
by Burrhus to first grant his mother the liberty of a de¬ 
fence. The accusation against Agrippina was brought by 
[ 143 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Junia Silana, the divorced wife of Caius Silius, 1 whose 
contemplated marriage with a young noble named Sextius 
Africanus had been prevented by Agrippina (theretofore 
on terms of intimacy with Junia) maliciously whispering 
to Africanus evil stories about his proposed bride. Junia’s 
life had been a bitter one, and this last drop overflowed 
her cup. She had abandoned herself to evil ways and now 
readily embraced a possible opportunity for revenge upon 
the woman who had wronged her. But while the mind of 
Nero was entirely predisposed to believe in his mother’s 
guilt, Agrippina defended herself with such eloquence and 
fire—not to say fierceness—that not only was she ac¬ 
quitted, but her request for vengeance upon her accusers 
was granted. Atimetus, a freedman of Agrippina’s bitter 
enemy Domitia, who had been prompted by his patroness 
to endorse the charges of Junia, was put to death, while 
Junia and one or two others were banished. After the 
death of Agrippina, the wretched wife of Silius returned 
from her remote exile and died at Tarentum. 

By her spirited and successful defence Agrippina re¬ 
gained somewhat of her former prestige, and for a time 
seems to have cherished the possibility of ultimately re¬ 
claiming her power. But a new enemy to her hopes had 
arisen in the person of Poppasa, a beautiful but unprin¬ 
cipled woman who had taken the place of Acte in the 
Emperor’s affections. Poppaea, although she had two hus¬ 
bands living, was anxious to become the wife of Nero; and 
aware of the difficulty of getting rid of Octavia as long as 
the suspicious and redoubtable Agrippina lived, the new 
favorite deliberately worked upon the weak soul of the 
now thoroughly depraved Nero until the latter consented 
to put Agrippina to death. 

1 Ante, page 83. 


[ 144 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 

He first thought of poison, but abandoned the idea be¬ 
cause it was considered impracticable on account of the 
precautions which Agrippina was known to have adopted. 
The next plan was suggested by the Emperors admiral, 
who, both from hatred of Agrippina and a desire to secure 
the favor of his imperial master, entered eagerly into the 
plot to destroy the Empress. He proposed that Agrip¬ 
pina should be invited to a pleasure party at sea in a ship 
so constructed that at a given signal it would fall to pieces 
and carry the princess to the bottom. 

This plan was adopted. Agrippina was drawn into the 
net by an urgent invitation from her son to come to Bake 
to celebrate with him the festival of Minerva, the Em¬ 
peror promising to send her home to Bauli 1 in his own 
ship—by which Agrippina was pleased to cheat herself 
into a belief of her son’s returning affection. After de¬ 
taining her until night Nero accompanied her to the ship, 
kissing her good-bye, with unusual endearments. The sea 
was calm, the moon shining brightly, and while Agrippina 
was reclining upon a couch in conversation with Gallus, 
an officer, the signal was given, the vessel fell apart, and 
Agrippina was precipitated into the sea after narrowly 
escaping death from a falling mass of lead which killed 
one of her attendants. The daughter of Germanicus was 
accustomed to all manly exercises, and, accompanied by a 
maid, she struck boldly out for shore. Acerronia, perceiv¬ 
ing by that quick intuition which seems peculiar to de¬ 
voted womanhood that the life of her mistress was aimed 
at, cried out that she was Agrippina and called upon the 
sailors to save the mother of their Emperor, whereupon 
she was immediately despatched by an oar, while Agrip¬ 
pina, picked up by a passing boat, regained the shore un- 

1 Agrippina had a villa at Bauli. 

[ 145 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

harmed. It has been suggested that the mother of Nero 
could not have been thoroughly and absolutely bad, to 
have inspired a servant with such heroic devotion. But 
instances are by no means uncommon where the most 
vicious and depraved of human beings have in some mys¬ 
terious way gained the dog-like attachment of an inferior, 
which in the end has risen above the terrors of death it¬ 
self. The constancy of an Acerronia is frequently nothing 
more than the dumb affection of Sikes’s dog; and certainly 
the fact must count for little in the terrible balance-sheet 
where the crimes of Agrippina—some of which may not 
even be breathed—are written upon the pages of Suetonius 
and the author of the “ Annals.” 

Upon learning of his mother’s escape, Nero gave way 
to a fit of violent rage. His friends and counsellors, Seneca 
and Burrhus, were appealed to in his extremity, and upon 
the latter declaring in reply to a hint from the philosopher 
that the praetorians would never be party to the death 
of a daughter of Germanicus, the brutal task was again 
turned over to Anicetus, the admiral. Accompanied by 
two ruffians, he repaired to the house of the doomed prin¬ 
cess, who was cruelly beaten to death by clubs. She met 
her fate with a firmness which might be anticipated from 
one who had for years expected that her life would end 
in such a way, and who had replied to the fortune-tellers 
who told her that Nero would certainly reign but would 
kill his mother, “Let him kill me, so that he reign.” And 
as if perhaps to warn us that from no earthly judgment 
should charity be absent, even in the case of this woman, 
so deliberately abandoned in wickedness to an extent 
unparalleled in history, we are compelled to some de¬ 
gree of mercy by the thought that many of her evil 
deeds were done for what, from the standpoint of her 
[ 146 ] 



AGRIPPINA MOTHER OF NERO 


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THE FAMILY OF NERO 

proud and conscienceless ambition, was to be the advan¬ 
tage of her son. But we are too human, our horror and 
detestation of the abominations which she performed are 
too overwhelming, for us to bring an adequate mercy into 
our judgment of Agrippina; that may come only from 
the God of the Christians whom her son persecuted so 
savagely. 

From the terrors of remorse with which even Nero 
was tortured after this impious deed, the Emperor sought 
forgetfulness by plunging into new excesses; first, how¬ 
ever, endeavoring to heighten the popular hatred towards 
Agrippina by addressing letters to the Senate, in which, 
after rehearsing the long list of his mother’s crimes and 
charging upon her all the atrocities of the reign of Clau¬ 
dius, he falsely declared that she had at the last attempted 
his assassination, and closed by saying that “through the 
good fortune of the State she had fallen.” He was assured 
in reply that “the very name of Agrippina was detested 
and that by her death the affections of the people toward 
him had been kindled into a flame.” Abandoning himself 
now to the most inordinate passions, he speedily came 
under the tyranny of new masters, notably the infamous 
Tigellinus; and before long Seneca and Burrhus succumbed 
to the bloodthirsty demands of the later favorites—Bur¬ 
rhus, as it is alleged, by poison, while Seneca opened his 
veins by command of his pupil and master. There is that 
in the rough old soldier which moves our sympathy, but 
nothing except contempt remains for the moral philoso¬ 
pher who had been an accomplice in his pupil’s crime of 
matricide. 

Tigellinus was now the power behind the throne, and 
under his deadly influence the imperial beast was hur¬ 
ried into new crimes which finally resulted in an entire 
[ 147 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

obliteration of the race of Csesar as well as a practical an¬ 
nihilation of the scanty nobility which remained. The first 
victim was the noble young Plautus , 1 who in Junia’s ac¬ 
cusation had been named as the central figure in Agrip¬ 
pina’s alleged conspiracy. At the time of the latter’s ac¬ 
quittal, Plautus was passed over in silence; but a little 
later he had been compelled by Nero’s jealousy and dis¬ 
trust to expatriate himself, retiring with his wife, Antistia, 
and a few friends to Asia, where he had large possessions. 
His cold-blooded butchery by the Emperor’s centurion 
has already been related; and after despatching the great- 
great-grandson of Tiberius, the assassins crossed to Mar¬ 
seilles, where Sylla, the second husband of Antonia, the 
Emperor’s sister-in-law, was living in exile, and there mur¬ 
dered the young noble as he sat at meat, without previous 
warning or apprehension. 

The next to pay the penalty of a near relationship to 
Caesar was Domitia Lepida, the sister of Nero’s father. 
She had narrowly escaped the fate of her sister Lepida, 
murdered by Agrippina, and had lived to gloat over the 
downfall of her old enemy, whom she was, however, not 
destined long to survive. One day, while confined to her 
bed by illness, she received a visit from the Emperor, and 
being advanced in years, she drew the young man towards 
her and, stroking his chin in the tenderness of affection, 
said that if only her life might be spared “until this is 
shaved the first time, she would die contented.” Her affec¬ 
tionate nephew, turning to those about him, said that he 

1 Suetonius mentions “the young Aulus Plautinus” as among the Em¬ 
peror s relatives, by blood or marriage, who were put to death by Nero. 
From the context, in connection with Tacitus’s account of the death of 
Rubellius Plautus, it is apparent that Plautus was referred to by the former 
historian. 


[ 148 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 

would have his beard immediately taken off; but, with¬ 
out waiting for the ceremony , 1 directed the physicians to 
mingle a poison with his aunt’s medicine, and immediately 
thereafter confiscated her estate. 

Through all of these scenes of violence and bloodshed 
the gentle O eta via had serenely awaited the fate which 
since the death of Britannicus she had known to be im¬ 
pending, and which now at last overtook her. Assured by 
the complacent manner in which the Senate received in¬ 
formation of the deaths of Plautus and Sylla “that all his 
villainies passed for acts of exemplary merit,” as Tacitus 
quaintly expresses it, the Emperor rudely divorced Octavia 
and immediately thereafter celebrated his marriage with 
Poppsea. This woman, noted alike for her beauty and de¬ 
pravity, was said to have “possessed every ornament but 
that of an unpolluted mind.” Beautiful, wealthy, accom¬ 
plished, of splendid birth, engaging in conversation, en¬ 
dowed with intellectual gifts, and in exterior deportment 
correct to a fault, she was especially adapted to satisfy 
the undoubted artistic sensibilities of the young Emperor, 
now in the twenty-fifth year of his age, while appealing 
in the most dangerously seductive way to all the lower 
instincts of his depraved nature. While yet the wife of 
Rufius Crispus, who had been captain of the prsetorian 
guards under the Emperor Claudius, she was allured by 
Otho, one of Nero’s companions, who afterwards himself 
became Emperor. In a boastful moment Otho carelessly 
extolled the charms of his wife to the Emperor, who, im¬ 
mediately seeking an interview, speedily became inflamed 
by the arts of Poppasa and proposed to her the higher al- 

1 The first shaving of the beard was marked by a particular ceremony 
among the Romans. While the period varied somewhat, it was usually in 
the twenty-first year. 


[ 149 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

liance for which, conscious of her beauty and other power¬ 
ful attractions, she had already been scheming. 

Empress at last, with three husbands living and undi¬ 
vorced, Poppeea could not feel entirely free from danger 
until Octavia was actually dead. She suborned one of 
the latter’s domestics to accuse her mistress of an offence 
which Poppasa herself had never reckoned as other than a 
venial sin. Although the charge was plainly disproven, the 
craven Nero exiled the object of his new wife’s hatred and 
placed a guard of soldiers over her in Campania, which 
was the place of her banishment. But the cowardly hus¬ 
band was easily terrified by the clamors of the populace, 
by whom Octavia had always been loved, and the prin¬ 
cess was at once recalled. Upon her return Rome went 
wild. The statues of Poppsea were overthrown, while those 
of Octavia, wreathed in garlands, were carried on the 
shoulders of the people, who marched first to the temples 
to offer thanks to the gods, and thence to the palace to 
express their grateful adoration for the Emperor. 

The incident was artfully turned by Poppsea to her 
own advantage. She appealed to Nero as his lawful wife, 
who was about to give an offspring to the fast-thinning 
family of the Caesars, but whose very life was in danger 
by the slaves of the barren Octavia, who, calling them¬ 
selves the people of Rome, had insulted the imperial dig¬ 
nity by their attack upon the object of their Emperor’s 
affection, through insults heaped upon her statue; and she 
closed by hinting that neither Nero nor herself would 
have peace until Octavia was dead. The rage of Nero 
was effectually aroused by this shrewd address, and as the 
evidence of a slave had proved insufficient, another in¬ 
strument was selected with which to accomplish the ruin 
of Octavia. This time Nero himself made the arrange- 
[ 150 ] 



AGRIPPINA 


MOTHER OF NERO 








THE FAMILY OF NERO 

ments. He sent for Anicetus, the same who had murdered 
Agrippina, and said to him that “as he alone had saved 
the life of the prince from the dark devices of his mother, 
an opportunity for a service of no less magnitude now 
presented itself by relieving him from a wife who was his 
mortal enemy; nor was there need of force of arms; he 
had only to admit adultery with Octavia.” 

The brutal murderer of Agrippina of course would not 
balk at so slight a service as this, and the Emperor there¬ 
upon published an edict that “Octavia in hopes of engag¬ 
ing the fleet in a conspiracy had corrupted Anicetus, the 
admiral.” To carry out the delusion the latter was forth¬ 
with banished to Sardinia, where he lived in pretended 
exile, and after enjoying the abundant reward bestowed 
by Nero for his shameful service, came to a natural, if not 
peaceful, end. Octavia was again sent away—this time to 
fatal Pandataria, where so many of her kindred after liv¬ 
ing in exile and wretchedness had suffered death by vio¬ 
lence or starvation at the hands of the imperial jailer. 
And now, deprived even of the friendly offices of her 
slaves and attendants, surrounded by coarse centurions 
and common soldiers, with every hope crushed and sink¬ 
ing beneath the shame of a false and infamous accusation 
which she had not been permitted even to answer, this 
fair young girl of nineteen years saw that the fate which 
so long had threatened her had come at last. After an in¬ 
terval of only a few days the centurion informed her that 
she must die. The delicate daughter of the Caesars was 
bound with cords and her veins opened in every joint; 
and as the flow of blood was retarded by the bodily fear 
and shrinking which in the extreme moment even her 
resigned and lofty spirit was unable to control, death was 
accelerated by submerging her in a bath of vapor heated 

[ 151 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

to the highest possible temperature. Nor did she escape 
the final indignity: the beautiful head upon which tra¬ 
dition said that the Apostle Peter’s hand had rested in 
baptism, was cut off by the centurion and conveyed to 
Poppaea as proof unanswerable that her cruel orders had 
been fulfilled. 

Although the popularity of Nero received a great shock 
by the murder of Octavia, the approval of the gods was 
clearly manifested in the safe delivery of Poppasa’s daugh¬ 
ter, the offspring which Nero had so anxiously awaited, 
and whose coming was heralded by Emperor and people 
with unbounded joy. The child was named Augusta, a 
temple was decreed in honor of her birth, and the event 
signalized by many other extravagant demonstrations on 
the part of the Senate. But the joy of the Emperor was 
short-lived, Augusta dying within four months after her 
birth. Her death provoked a new kind of flattery, which 
was nothing short of an apotheosis, the child of Nero and 
Poppaea being decreed a goddess and accorded the honor 
of a permanent place among the immortals. 

After the death of his child Nero abandoned himself to 
a series of crimes so dark and atrocious that for the time 
being it must have seemed to Rome that the spirit of 
Caligula had found a resting-place in his imperial nephew. 
Among the victims of his ferocity during this period of 
the Emperor’s life were the devoted believers in that faith 
which had sustained the gentle Octavia in all the bitter¬ 
ness of her later years. Under the false accusation of hav¬ 
ing started the fire which he himself kindled, the disciples 
of Paul and Peter were destroyed by thousands and under 
circumstances of such atrocity that human nature recoils 
in horror from the mere narration of events which to the 
eyes of the degraded and bloodthirsty populace were only 
[ 152 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 

an exceptional holiday entertainment provided for their 
delight by the “Father of his Country.” Besides the per¬ 
secution of the Christians and the wanton destruction of 
Rome, the pages of Tacitus and Suetonius groan beneath 
a relation of the most horrible and unnamable crimes which 
were perpetrated by this “divine artist,” as he was fond 
of terming himself; so that it is positively a relief to turn 
away from a recital so sickening and recur once more to 
the ordinary and every-day murders with which the most 
infamous of the Caesars was now speedily removing the 
few remaining persons who were allied to him by blood or 
by affinity. 

Poppaea was the first to succumb in the Emperor’s last 
mad onslaught upon his family. Reproaching him for his 
long absence and late return one night when she was in 
ill health, the Empress was rewarded by her brutal hus¬ 
band with a kick, from the effects of which she soon died. 
Grieving as much perhaps for the loss of his unborn child 
as for the death of Poppaea (whom it is said he had fruit¬ 
lessly endeavored to poison), Nero was at first apparently 
overwhelmed by remorse, but soon roused himself to the 
performance of a manifest duty: the discovery of a victim 
for the crime which had been committed. Poppaea s father 
and mother were dead; the former, Titus Ollius, having 
been destroyed by Sejanus, the latter, Poppaea Sabina, 
murdered by Messalina in connection with the conspir¬ 
acy which resulted in the death of Asiaticus . 1 Poppaea’s 
son, Rufinus Crispinus, by her first husband was also dead; 
having been 'thrown into the sea by order of Nero because 
he was reported to have played the part of an Emperor 
among his playfellows. But her first husband, Rufius 
Crispinus, was still alive; he would be a fitting sacrifice 
1 Ante , page 114. 


[ 153 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

to the manes of the murdered Poppasa, and the virtuous 
Emperor breathed more freely when the centurion re¬ 
ported that his errand had been performed and Crispinus 
was no more. Otho, the second husband of Poppasa, was 
suffered to live, as the Emperor had need of his vices for 
the time. 

Following the rule of his imperial predecessors, whose 
invariable custom it was to as speedily as possible fill the 
place of each deceased wife with a new Empress, Nero 
sought a marriage with the twice-widowed Antonia, his 
adoptive sister, the half-sister of the murdered Octavia, 
and, with the exception of Nero himself, the only living 
descendant of the Empress Livia Augusta. To her lasting 
honor be it said, the proud daughter of Claudius disdain¬ 
fully refused the proffered alliance, and was immediately 
put to death by the enraged Nero, under pretence that 
she was engaged in a plot against him. It is fair to say 
that there are conflicting opinions as to Antonia’s com¬ 
plicity in the conspiracy, which was that of Piso. Pliny 
asserts that Antonia had married Piso and consented to 
use her influence with the army in securing for her hus¬ 
band the favor of the people, after Nero’s death should 
have cleared the way to the throne. The author of the 
“Annals,” however, plainly discredits this report; while 
expressly declaring his purpose to state only historic truth 
in regard to Antonia, he says that it is not only quite im¬ 
probable that Antonia would have lent her name to a pro¬ 
ject from which she would have nothing to hope, but as 
well that Piso, who was tenderly devoted to his wife, al¬ 
though she was a woman of extreme depravity and devoid 
of every recommendation but personal beauty, would have 
entered into a matrimonial contract with another; “unless 
it be,” as the historian philosophically muses, “that the 
[ 154 ] 



AGRIPPINA MOTHER OF NERO 













THE FAMILY OF NERO 

lust of domination bums with a flame so fierce as to over¬ 
power all other affections of the human breast.” 

Upon the discovery of his conspiracy Piso was put to 
death by the usual method of opening his veins—a death 
commonly supposed to be comparatively free from suf¬ 
fering, but which in the majority of cases is attended 
by excruciating pain. The plot was widespread, involving 
families and individuals of every rank, age, and sex, and 
the furious Emperor took such a bloody and wholesale 
revenge that, as we are darkly informed, “at one and the 
same time the City was thronged with funerals and the 
Capitol with victims.” 

But this carnival of blood had not diverted the Em¬ 
peror from his intention of taking another wife, and a 
selection was finally made in the person of Statilia Messa- 
lina , 1 mentioned as the great-granddaughter of Statilius 
Taurus, who lived in the time of Augustus, and who built 
the great amphitheatre called after his name, which stood 
in the Campus Martius . 2 Statilia was married at the time; 
and it is thus worthy of note that this last marriage of 
the last imperial Caesar occurred under similar circum¬ 
stances to the last marriage of the first Emperor. In the 
case of Augustus, however, Tiberius Nero was allowed to 
die a natural death—from shame at the disgrace which 
had been inflicted upon him. Of course, from the high- 
spirited Nero action so mild could not be expected in deal¬ 
ing with one who had displayed the temerity of marrying 
a woman to whom the Emperor of Rome afterwards con¬ 
descended to pay his addresses. Statilia’s husband was 
Atticus Vestinus, the consul, a man of independent spirit, 

1 It is uncertain whether Statilia was related to the wife of Claudius. 

8 The elevation called the Monte Citorio is supposed to have been formed 
by its ruins. 


[ 155 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

and who had apparently given some expression to his 
scorn at the cowardly bearing of the Emperor. Nero at 
first endeavored to connect Vestinus with Piso’s conspir¬ 
acy ; but it became so plain that the consul had been en¬ 
tirely ignorant of the plot, that the Emperor abandoned 
all forms and despatched a tribune with orders to put 
Vestinus to death. In the graphic description of Tacitus, 
“he had that day discharged all the functions of consul, 
and was celebrating a banquet totally devoid of fear, or 
perhaps in order to hide his fears, when the soldiers enter¬ 
ing told him the tribune wanted him. Without a moment’s 
delay he rose from the table and every particular of the 
business was at once carried into instant execution; he 
was shut up in a chamber; a physician was at hand; his 
veins were opened; and while yet full of life he was con¬ 
veyed into a bath and immersed in hot water, not a word 
betokening regret escaping him. Meanwhile those who 
supped with him were enclosed with a guard, nor released 
till the night was far spent and till Nero having pictured 
to himself and passed his jokes upon the terror of men, 
expecting when they rose from the table to be put to 
death, signified that they had paid dear enough for their 
consular supper.” 

It might be thought that Messalina was blotted out of 
existence with her first husband, as other than the fact of 
her marriage, which is well attested, we find no further 
mention of her during the reign of Nero. But in some in¬ 
scrutable manner she must have survived during both the 
remainder of his life and—for the widow of a murdered 
Emperor—the more critical period of his death. For in 
the history of Otho it is stated that in a letter written by 
that Emperor in anticipation of death, he “committed the 
care of his relics (ashes) and memory to Messalina, Nero’s 
[ 156 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 

widow, whom he had intended to marry.” Otho’s inten¬ 
tion was perhaps in the nature of a post-mortem reprisal 
upon his predecessor, who had a few years since robbed 
him of Poppaea Sabina. 

To this period belongs the death of the younger Silanus, 
with the exception of the Emperor himself the last male 
Caesar. Silanus, who was the only son of Marcus Junius 
Silanus 1 and thus the great-great-great-grandson of the 
Emperor Augustus, was a young man of the highest qual¬ 
ity. He had been educated under the tuition of Cassius 
Longinus, an eminent lawyer, by whom it is said the 
young Lucius “was formed to every noble aspiration.” 
Cassius was preeminent for elevated character, great abili¬ 
ties, and hereditary opulence, and the tie of mutual esteem 
and affection which existed between pupil and master had 
been strengthened by the marriage of the latter to Junia 
Lepida, the aunt of Silanus. In the time of Caligula, while 
holding the office of proconsul of Asia, Cassius had been 
unjustly suspected of the conspiracy to discover which 
Quintilia had been so shockingly tortured ; 2 and his death 
having been decreed by Caligula, he was summoned to 
Rome; but the tyrant fortunately died before his arrival. 
He was now far advanced in years and blind; utterly un¬ 
conscious of plots and conspiracies and devoted to form¬ 
ing the graceful mind and opening character of his young 
kinsman. 

The virtuous picture did not escape the evil eye of the 
besotted Nero, and he formally accused Cassius of cherish¬ 
ing among the images of his ancestors the bust of Caius 
Cassius , 3 inscribed “the leader of the party”; and that in 
addition to thus venerating the memory of a name implac¬ 
ably hostile to the family of the Caesars, he had attached 
1 Ante, page 137. 2 Ante, page 92. 3 One of Caesar’s murderers. 

[ 157 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

to his person the descendant of Augustus, with a view of 
making him the centre of his revolutionary schemes. Sila- 
nus was himself charged with the same accusations which 
had formerly been brought against his uncle Torquatus, 
and finally the Emperor procured informers to accuse the 
wife of Cassius of “practising horrible magic rites” and of 
incest with her nephew. 

After gravely hearing the “charges,” the Senate pro¬ 
nounced sentence of banishment against Cassius, who was 
sent to Sardinia, where Nero planned to kill him, but him¬ 
self died too soon, and the virtuous old man was recalled 
by Galba and died peacefully at Rome. The case of Lepida 
was “referred to Caesar,” and we are uninformed as to her 
punishment; but can we doubt what befell a descendant 
of Augustus who vanished into the darkness of Nero’s 
mercy? Not, at least, if we may judge from the fate of 
her nephew. No sentence was pronounced upon Silanus, 
who was at first merely confined in the city of Barium, in 
Apulia. But while living there in the greatest extremity, 
he was confronted one day by a centurion who roughly 
ordered him to open his veins. The son of Marcus Junius, 
however, was no Cicero nor Seneca. Descended from a 
long line of ancestors, in no generation of whom was death 
by violence unknown, the spirited young Julian, in whose 
character seemed blended all the better elements of his 
race, determined that if the final destruction of that race 
were now at hand, he at least would not allow an assassin 
the glory of accomplishing it. Athletic in form and inured 
to manly exercises, .he fought his assailants with naked 
hands until, overpowered by the soldiers, “he fell as though 
in battle from wounds received from the centurion in front 
of his body.” 

Thus perished the last male of the line of Augustus, 

[ 158 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 


with the exception of Nero; and with the possible ex¬ 
ception also of one or two females, whose fate is shrouded 
in darkness, the last of the house of Csesar. His great- 
great-grandmother, Julia, the daughter of Augustus, had 
been starved to death by Tiberius. His great-grandmother, 
the younger Julia, had perished in the same way, and his 
great-grandfather, Lucius Paulus, had also fallen by the 
wayside. His grandfather, Appius Junius, was murdered by 
Claudius and Messalina, while his father, Marcus Junius, 
had been poisoned by Agrippina, who also forced one of 
his uncles to commit suicide, while Nero destroyed the 
other. For six generations death at the hands of Caesar 
had been the heritage of his house; and with his own 
brave life went out forever the last spark of virtue in 
the family which the great Julius had founded a century 
before . 1 

Close upon the destruction of his last blood relation 
came the final murder among the Emperor’s connections 
by marriage. The victims were Lucius Vetus, who had 
formerly been a colleague of Nero in the consulship, and 
Antistia, his daughter, widow of the murdered Plautus . 2 
We are told that they had been long hated by the Em¬ 
peror, their existence, whenever called to his attention, 
seeming to reproach him with the murder of Antistia’s 
husband, the son-in-law of his old friend. The young 
widow had abandoned herself to grief ever since she be¬ 
held the assassins who had butchered her brave husband, 
and had been with difficulty prevailed upon to take nutri¬ 
ment sufficient to maintain life. But when a guard of sol¬ 
diers secretly beset the country seat of her father, the 
broken-hearted daughter, by a supreme effort controlling 

1 The death of Silanus occurred in the year 65 a. d. 

2 Ante, page 72. 

[ 159 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

her own sufferings, hastened to Nero, to entreat in person 
for her parent’s life. She might as well have pleaded to 
a starving hyena, of which she herself was speedily con¬ 
vinced; whereupon returning to Vetus, father, daughter, 
and the latter’s grandmother Sextia, after distributing all 
their portable property among the domestics, in order that 
the imperial thief might not profit too much by their 
death, quietly opened their veins and expired in the order 
of their respective ages. 

Although the victims were not related to him, either by 
blood or affinity, one other crime of Nero’s requires men¬ 
tion as being in some respects the most flagrant among all 
the brutal deeds of wickedness which soon were to people 
the madman’s last terrible hours with pale and weeping 
ghosts and blood-stained, menacing spectres. “After shed¬ 
ding the blood of so many men of eminence,” says the 
historian, “Nero at last conceived a burning intention to 
extirpate virtue itself, by putting to death Thrasea Pastus 
and Bareas Soranus.” Degraded as Roman society had be¬ 
come under the low and evil standard, which, radiating un¬ 
interruptedly from the Palatine during half a century, had 
now fairly undermined the primitive purity and integrity 
of the entire State, it is supremely encouraging to know 
that among all the Roman senators Thrasea and Soranus, 
“because of their elevated character and undoubted virtue ,” 
were greatly beloved by the people. The fact was of course 
in itself sufficient to rouse the jealous hatred of Nero. 
But in the case of Thrasea, there were special reasons for 
the Emperor’s animosity. Twice had the noble and lofty- 
minded senator refused to sacrifice his self-respect by unit¬ 
ing in the servile flatteries which his cowardly and fawning 
associates invariably bestowed upon their vile master after 
some crime of peculiar atrocity; once when it was pro- 
[ 160 ] 





I 


NEliO 





































































































































































































































































































































































THE FAMILY OF NERO 


posed by the Senate to publicly congratulate Nero for 
the murder of his mother, and again when divine honors 
were being decreed to Poppaea—on each of which occa¬ 
sions Thrasea walked out of the Senate. He had been re¬ 
proached by his friends for thus laying the foundation of 
danger for himself without opening a source of liberty to 
others. But this was the pagan view. In the wider horizon 
of the Christian’s hope, the silent protest of truth against 
falsehood, of virtue against vice, of good against evil, when 
manifested by the refusal of a noble soul to acquiesce 
in an act of dishonor, however futile and useless at the 
moment, is seen to be the sowing of a spirit which in 
later times shall spring into the life of a magnificent ac¬ 
complishment in the unending war for the liberation of 
mankind. 

For a long time Nero cherished his rage in secret, fear¬ 
ing too much the wrath of the people to openly destroy 
their idol. But taking advantage of a moment when the 
attention of the populace was absorbed in the reception 
of Tiridates, the Parthian (who had come to receive his 
crown from Caesar), the ceremonies attending which were 
the most magnificent Rome had ever seen, the Emperor 
ventured to accomplish his vengeance. Soranus was charged 
with the time-honored accusation of having supported the 
pretensions of Rubellius Plautus; with his devoted young 
daughter Servilia he was condemned to death. Thrasea 
was condemned upon what in modern times would be 
called “general principles”; the charge against him being 
“that he had trampled upon all the civil and sacred insti¬ 
tutions of our ancestors.” The soldiers found him at even¬ 
ing in his beautiful gardens, surrounded by his friends and 
conversing with the cynic philosopher Demetrius. His 
noble wife, Arria, daughter of that other Arria of heroic 
[ 161 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

memory , 1 essayed to share his fate, but he restrained her 
by saying that she must not deprive their daughter of her 
remaining refuge. His veins were opened, and when the 
blood began to flow he sprinkled it upon the floor, crying, 
“Let us make a libation to Jove, the deliverer”; and call¬ 
ing his son-in-law, the noble young Helvidius, he said to 
him, “Behold, young man, and may the gods avert the 
omen, but you are fallen upon such times that it may be 
useful to fortify your mind by examples of unflinching 
firmness.” 

Virtue was dead; it remained for vice also to be exter¬ 
minated, and the last act in the dark tragedy of the family 
of Csesar was fast approaching, when the curtain was to fall 
upon a race of rulers who, pretending to a place among 
the gods, had, with one marked exception, by their lives 
relegated themselves to the lowest depths of infamy and 
brute degradation, which all the splendor and magnificence 
of their wonderful Empire cannot conceal. 

Thrasea had been slain in the thirteenth year of the 
Emperor’s reign, and for perhaps eighteen months longer 
the ruthless murderer of virtue was tolerated by a groan¬ 
ing world. Then came the end, slow muttering at first, but 
at the last swiftly, tragically, terribly as the sternest exac¬ 
tion of justice, untinged with mercy, could demand. The 
Gauls, under Julius Vindex, a Roman general in command 
of the province, first raised the standard of rebellion; so that 
it was from the indomitable people upon whose conquest 
by the great Julius the house of Caesar founded its power, 
that there came the first ominous mutterings of a gather- 

1 The wife of Thrasea was the daughter of the celebrated Arria, who in 
the reign of Claudius, to encourage her husband, who had been ordered 
to commit suicide, plunged a dagger in her own breast, saying, “ Strike, 
my Paetus, it does not hurt!” 


[ 162 ] 



NERO 




















































/ 

































































































































THE FAMILY OF NERO 

ing storm, by which the last stone of the princely struc¬ 
ture which had towered so loftily was now to be wrathfully 
overthrown. The news of the insurrection reached Nero on 
the anniversary of his mother’s murder, but neither fact 
gave the slightest concern to the Emperor, who, inter¬ 
rupted at supper by the news, did not even leave his feast, 
and thereafter remained at Naples for an entire week, with¬ 
out taking any steps to meet the danger which threatened. 
But at the end of that period he was roused by a proclama¬ 
tion of Vindex, in which the Emperor was mentioned as 
“Ahenobarbus,” and was railed at as “a pitiful harper”; 
at which Nero was so mortified and enraged that he hastily 
returned to Rome—not indeed to defend his Empire, but 
merely to refute the accusations against his want of skill 
in an art upon his proficiency in which he had so prided 
himself. When the news became more ominous he did call 
his friends together for a hasty consultation; but no action 
having been determined upon, he carelessly busied himself 
with the examination of some new musical instruments, 
which seem to have been the prototype of the pneumatic 
organ. But in the midst of his frivolity came word that 
Galba and the Spanish province had declared against him; 
upon hearing which, in a paroxysm of fear and rage, he 
tore his clothes and ran screaming about the palace, beat¬ 
ing his head and crying that it was all over with him and 
that his Empire was lost. Encouraged, however, by his 
old nurse and by the presence of his associates in vice, he 
once more rallied and deliberately attempted to bury the 
whole affair in oblivion, by an abandonment to the luxu¬ 
rious wickedness for which the Golden House had become 
a synonym. But it was too late. Horrible dreams disturbed 
his sleeping hours; his mother beaten to death by his or¬ 
ders, the murdered Octavia and the other victims of his 
[ 163 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

cruelty threatened him so awfully that he cried out in 
agony and at last feared sleep, if possible, more than death 
itself. Then followed a final recourse to Locusta, having 
procured from whom a dose of poison, to be used in an 
emergency, he went into the Servilian gardens to await the 
preparation of a fleet which had been hastily ordered to 
convey him to Parthia. But as usual his mind again failed 
him and he returned to the palace to spend what proved 
to be his last night on earth. And such a night! Awaken¬ 
ing at midnight, he discovered that his guards had with¬ 
drawn; calling for his friends, he found that they too had 
fled, and, leaping from his bed in a frenzy of terror, he 
learned that at last the dread moment had arrived, and he 
was actually abandoned—not even a slave to support the 
Emperor of the world in his final extremity. All had van¬ 
ished—in their flight carrying away his bed linen (which 
was heavily embroidered with gold) and including even 
Locusta’s poison, unwisely placed in a golden box which 
had tempted the slaves’ cupidity. Vainly calling for some 
one to come and kill him, he burst into a fit of weeping, 
and crying miserably that he had “ neither friend nor foe,” 
ran out of the Golden House forever. As he was dragging 
himself towards the Tiber his freedman, Phaon, met him 
and offered his country house, some four miles from the 
city, as a hiding-place. Partly naked and already half dead 
with fear, he mounted his horse and muffling his head and 
face in a handkerchief, with only four attendants, the ter¬ 
rified wretch, who within a few short hours had by his 
own conscience been dashed from the highest pinnacle of 
sovereign power to the lowest depths of misery the most 
degraded, set out upon his last earthly journey; hearing 
from the praetorian camp over against the Esquiline quar¬ 
ter, as he passed, the shouts of the soldiers, demanding 
[ 164 ] 


THE FAMILY OF NERO 

his death and proclaiming the succession of Galba. What 
a horrible phantasmagoria must have presented itself to his 
disordered mind during this wild midnight ride through 
the streets of the Eternal City, whose every stone cried 
out against him as murderer, matricide and worse! And 
if fear had not entirely destroyed in that tortured mind 
the function of memory, what a dreadful stab must have 
pierced even the hardened conscience of a Nero when, with 
the first faint gleams of returning light, the whole force of 
his dreadful fall and his abject misery came surging back 
upon him in those terrible morning hours, and of all days 
in the year, upon the anniversary of Octavias death! 

Leaving the road at length, the little cavalcade passed up 
a lane, and then, abandoning their horses, waded through a 
swamp, in order to pass unseen into the house by effect¬ 
ing an entrance through a hole at the rear of the wall 
surrounding the villa. Upon his hands and knees, in the 
beast posture which so well befitted him, covered by mud, 
torn by briers, his naked body quivering with fear, the 
wretched remnant of a man who had swayed the destinies 
of two hundred millions of human beings crawled to his 
last earthly asylum; and there in a small, dreary closet or 
cell, stretched upon a wretched pallet and protected by 
an old coverlet, gnawing a crust of bread and drinking 
a little warm water, he stupidly awaited the end. 

A servant of Phaon’s soon came running in with letters 
which stated that “Nero had been declared an enemy by 
the Senate and that search was being made for him that 
he might be punished according to the ancient custom.” 
Inquiring what that punishment was, they told him that 
after being stripped and having his neck fastened with a 
forked stake, the criminal was scourged to death. Gal¬ 
vanized into some semblance of life by this information, 
[ 165 ] 


THE HOUSE OF C.ESAR 

he ordered a grave to be dug, of the proper size and lined 
by pieces of white marble, if such could be found. Then 
he took up the two daggers which the eager slaves had 
furnished him, but after feeling their points, whimpered 
“the fatal hour is not yet come,” and laid them down. 
Then beseeching one of the slaves to weep and lament, 
he entreated another to set him the example by killing 
himself, crying every now and then, “Oh, what an artist 
is about to perish!” But the praetorians were on his track; 
during his flight he had been recognized by an old soldier, 
who caught a glimpse of the Emperor’s face when, his 
horse having shied at a dead body in the road, the hand¬ 
kerchief about his head had become disarranged. The 
horsemen, who had orders to take him alive, were heard 
approaching. Quoting a line from the “ Iliad,”— 

“ The noise of swift-heeled steeds assails my ears ,”— 

he tremblingly carried a dagger to his throat; it was 
driven in by Epaphroditus, his secretary, and Nero fell 
to the ground just as the soldiers burst into the room. 
Applying his cloak to stanch the flow of blood, the cen¬ 
turion pretended that he had come to the assistance of 
the Emperor, whereupon the latter replied, “It is too 
late; is this your loyalty?” And immediately after pro¬ 
nouncing these words he expired, with his eyes fixed and 
starting out of his head, to the terror of all who beheld 
him. 

Thus on the ninth (or eleventh) of June, 69 a. d., in the 
thirty-second year of his life, miserably perished the last 
of the Caesars—one hundred and twelve years after that 
other death at the foot of Pompey’s statue had at once 
made possible the imperial system and marked the eleva¬ 
tion of its one great ruling family, of which Nero was the 
[ 166 ] 



NERO 


S 











































































































































































































































































































































THE FAMILY OF NERO 

last distorted product. During that interval we have seen 
sixty-five Caesars by birth and marriage put to death by 
the sovereign power; while of all those born in the Julian 
line, excepting such as perished in infancy, history tells us 
of only five (and there cannot have been more than thir¬ 
teen) who died from natural causes. Truly a bountiful heri¬ 
tage from the unnatural creation of Livia and the vices 
to which it naturally paved the way, and one which if 
it could have been foreseen would doubtless have brought 
new honors to the “Augusta” from the Senate and the 
people whose conception of virtue had been swallowed up 
in the vices of an unholy imperialism. 

No relative remained to perform the last mournful of¬ 
fices for Nero, whose name was declared accursed by the 
Senate, and whose statues were overthrown in the verita¬ 
ble saturnalia of joy to which the city gave itself up when 
the tidings came from Phaon’s villa. But the once beau¬ 
tiful Acte, who tradition tells us had become a believer 
with the gentle O eta via, and the sparing of whose life by 
Nero seems to have been the one white spot in his history 
—she it was who gathered up all that was mortal of the 
“divine artist” and deposited the remains in the family 
tomb on the Pincian Hill. As a family distinction the 
name of Caesar had passed away forever, remaining in use 
thereafter only as a badge of sovereignty. And for a mo¬ 
ment, at least, before taking another mad plunge, Rome 
and the Roman dependencies must have breathed more 
freely when the last tyrant of the great Julian line disap¬ 
peared from mortal view. 


[ 167 ] 


CHAPTER XII 

RESULTS AND CAUSES 

O F one hundred and nine Roman men, women, and 
children, Caesars by birth, adoption, or marriage, or 
nearly related to those who had intermarried with the im¬ 
perial family, history has indicated the fate of more than 
ninety. The parts which they respectively played in the 
continuous tragedy of an entire century have been out¬ 
lined in the foregoing pages. From a resume of the lead¬ 
ing events, in connection with a passing analysis both of 
the motives of the actors and of the family consequences 
of their acts, the cause of the house of Cassar’s destruc¬ 
tion, and as well the ease and certainty with which that 
destruction was progressively accomplished, will become 
so much more readily apparent as to justify such slight 
repetition as may be unavoidable. 

The characters who have thus figured in this mighty 
drama may for convenience be thus classified: 


Cesars by birth 57 

Cesars by adoption 3 

Wives of C-esars, not of the blood 18 

Husbands of Cesars, not of the blood 17 

Other relatives by marriage 14 


If we include among those who were actually murdered 
all those who perished by violence at the hands of others, 
either directly or indirectly,—for example, those who were 
coerced into committing suicide and those whose death 
proceeded from starvation under circumstances which ren¬ 
dered it none the less coerced because voluntarily endured, 
—the fate of the various persons included in the five 
[ 168 ] 


RESULTS AND CAUSES 

classes, as traced in the foregoing chapters, may be sum¬ 
marized as follows: 


Murdered 1 


Cesars by birth 

20 males 

15 females 

35 

CjEsars by adoption 

2 males 

0 females 

2 

Wives not of the blood 


5 

5 

Husbands not of the blood 

9 


9 

Other relatives by marriage 

9 males 

5 females 

14 


— 

— 

— 

Total 

40 males 

25 females 

65 

Died 

Cesar by birth 

in Exile 2 

1 male 


1 

Died from 

Natural Causes 3 


Caesars by birth 

6 males 

7 females 

13 

Wives not of the blood 


5 

5 

Husbands not of the blood 

6 


6 

Cesar by adoption 

1 


1 

Total 

13 males 

12 females 

25 

Causes of Death Unknown 4 


Caesars by birth 

1 male 

7 females 

8 

Wives not of the blood 


8 

8 

Husbands not of the blood 

2 


2 

Total 

3 males 

15 females 

18 


From the foregoing it may be deduced that of the fifty- 
seven Caesars by birth who came into the world during the 
century and a half commencing with the birth of the Dic¬ 
tator’s daughter Julia and ending with the death of Nero, 
thirty-five were murdered, one pined away in exile, thir- 
1 See Table I. 2 See Table II. 3 See Table III. 4 See Table IV. 

[ 169 ] 





THE HOUSE OF C^SAR 

teen died from natural causes, and eight died from causes 
unknown. 

Assuming that all of those as to whose death history is 
silent died from natural causes, and excluding eight who 
died in infancy, it appears that more than two out of three 
of the imperial race came to a violent end. The proportion 
is far more significant when confined to the male represen¬ 
tatives of the family; of the twenty-eight Julian princes 
not more than seven died from natural causes. Of these 
seven, four (the infant son of Tiberius and Julia, the in¬ 
fant son of Germ'anicus and Agrippina, Caius, grandson of 
Tiberius, and Drusus, son of Claudius) died in infancy; a 
fifth, Nero’s father, only escaped execution by an oppor¬ 
tune attack of dropsy; while a sixth, Barbatus Messala, 
father of Messalina, is included among those whose death is 
unmentioned. So that of all the males of that great family 
which swayed the Roman world for nearly a century and 
a half, Augustus, the first Emperor, may be considered the 
only one who was permitted to die quietly in bed . 1 

As to the remaining fifty-two individuals whose names 
have appeared in the foregoing pages by reason of their af¬ 
finity to the imperial family, two Caesars by adoption were 
murdered, and the third fell in war; five wives of Julian 
princes, not of the blood, were put to death, a like num¬ 
ber died from natural causes, and the death of eight is un¬ 
mentioned; nine of the seventeen husbands who were not 
of the blood of their Caesarean spouses were murdered, six 
came to a natural end, and the death of two is untraced; 
while fourteen fathers, mothers, previous husbands or wives, 
or children of previous marriages of those who braved an 
imperial marriage met death by reason of such alliance. 

1 Even his death was not entirely free from suspicion of poisoning. See 
ante, page 44. 


[ 170 ] 


» 





NERO 



























































> 



RESULTS AND CAUSES 

Next to the bare fact of this great domestic slaughter, 
which of course first impresses us in a study of the Caesars, 
we are struck by the progressiveness of imperial criminal¬ 
ity as indicated by the family murders. 

During the rule of the first Caesar, only one violent death 
occurred in the family—that of its illustrious founder; 
whose assassination, moreover, was not a family affair . 1 In 
this period, also, Pompey the Great was the only relative 
by marriage who came to a violent end; and although he 
fell in war with his father-in-law, Caesar was not respon¬ 
sible for his assassination, which was accomplished by one 
of Pompey’s own centurions, assisted by Egyptian slaves. 
While the undisputed tenure of power of the Dictator 
continued scarcely two years, even by his severest critics 
it will be conceded that the brevity of that tenure had not 
the slightest effect upon the subject now under considera¬ 
tion. If he had ruled a lifetime, the result would have been 
unchanged; for there existed an impassable gulf between 
domestic murder and the devoted son of Aurelia, the ten¬ 
der father of Julia, the manly lover who refused to divorce 
Cornelia at the beck of the terrible Sylla. 

The supremacy of Augustus may be said to have cov¬ 
ered a period of about forty years; during which interval 
four Caesars by birth and five relatives by marriage suc¬ 
cumbed to the passions born of a consuming thirst for 
power. Of these, three were destroyed by Livia, to clear 
the way for her own son’s succession; while six were put 
to death by Augustus , 2 from motives of fear, preservation 
of his power, and revenge. 

During the twenty-three years of the second Emperor’s 

1 The charge that Brutus was Caesar’s illegitimate son seems to be un¬ 
founded. 

2 Including Antony and Cleopatra, who were suicides. 

[ 171 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

reign the number of murders in the imperial family in¬ 
creased to fourteen. The victims included eight Caesars by 
birth, for the death of one of whom Livia Augusta was 
responsible, while Tiberius accounted for five and Tiberius 
and Sejanus jointly for the remaining two; two Caesars by 
adoption, one poisoned by the younger Livia and the other 
(the Emperor himself) by Macro and Caligula; and four 
relatives by marriage, all destroyed by Tiberius. One or 
two of these succumbed to revenge, while the others were 
sacrificed to the lust for imperial power. 

Although Caligula maintained himself only one-sixth as 
long as his predecessor, his reign contributed to the list of 
imperial victims more than half as many names as were 
recorded during that of Tiberius. In less than four years, 
six Caesars by birth and two by marriage were murdered; 
four by Caligula, one by Claudius, afterwards Emperor, 
and three—including the Emperor himself—by Chaerea 
and the tribune Lupus. Tiberius Gemellus was killed to 
secure the throne for Caligula, who himself succumbed to 
the just anger of an outraged society, while madness and 
revenge destroyed the other six. 

Six Caesars by birth and eight by marriage fell victims 
to the Caesarean passion for murder during the thirteen 
years’ reign of the Emperor Claudius. Five were cut off 
by Agrippina the younger, seven by Claudius and Messa- 
lina together, one by Messalina alone, and Messalina her¬ 
self by Narcissus, acting as he believed in accordance with 
the Emperor’s wish. Hatred, revenge, and the interest of 
the next Emperor were as usual the controlling motives 
of these crimes. 

If Nero, who reigned eighteen years, failed to supply 
more than his progressional quota of imperial victims, it 
was only because proper subjects could not be found. He, 
[ 172 ] 


RESULTS AND CAUSES 

however, managed to maintain a rate of one a year, and 
of the ten Caesars by birth and eight by marriage thus de¬ 
stroyed, Agrippina poisoned one, and all the others, her¬ 
self included, were drowned, boiled, or stabbed to death 
by order of the Father of his Country. Fear of an attack 
upon his supremacy and ungovernable madness were about 
equally responsible for the murders of the last Emperor’s 
reign. 

From the foregoing it requires no stretch of the imagi¬ 
nation to conclude that the imperial madness for domestic 
murder betrays all the psychic symptoms of a veritable 
disease, a sort of moral fever of progressive stages, to the 
consuming nature of which, body, soul, and intellect finally 
surrendered. And if it be true that the crime of domestic 
murder—that most sinister and blasting method of ac¬ 
quiring sovereign power, the lust for which is conceded 
to have been primarily responsible for the annihilation of 
the Julian race—if it be a fact that this evil was intro¬ 
duced into the family of Caesar by the wife of Tiberius 
Nero, then, as all diseases must have an origin, we are 
doubtless justified in concluding that this act of Livia’s 
was the germ of that dread “Imperial disease” so fatal 
both to the house of Caesar and all the long line of Ro¬ 
man emperors. 

It is necessary to note one other important fact, the ex¬ 
istence of which served both to root more firmly the fatal 
consequent of Livia’s crime and to create the precise con¬ 
ditions for its rapid and vigorous growth in the atmos¬ 
phere of imperialism; and which at the same time was in 
itself a primary cause of the failure of the Julian line, the 
number of whose descendants was seriously affected by it. 
This is the fact of the frequent intermarriages among the 
descendants of the first Caius Julius. 

[ 173 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

From the subjoined tables , 1 which are based upon the 
preceding chapters, it appears that of fifteen male Ceesars 
by birth who married, ten married near relatives of the 
blood; while of twenty-three female Caesars who married, 
nine married Ceesars by birth . 2 The physical, mental, and 
moral effect upon the race can best be considered by a 
comparison between the children—both as to their num¬ 
ber and character—of these marriages and those of the 
Caesars, both male and female, whose wives and husbands 
were not of the Julian blood. 

Of the ten Julian intermarriages, six were unproductive 
of children, of whom thirteen resulted from the remaining 
four, including that of Germanicus and Agrippina, the 
number of whose offspring was nine. 

Of the eight Caesars 3 whose wives were not of the Ju¬ 
lian blood, history mentions eight children, while Tacitus 
speaks indirectly of at least two others . 4 Only one of these 
eight marriages resulted unproductively. 

Of the eighteen Julian females by birth who married 
outside the family , 5 not more than six failed to produce 
children, of whom at least thirty in the aggregate were 
born of the marriages in question. 

It thus appears that while six of the ten Julian inter¬ 
marriages were unproductive of offspring, a like result oc¬ 
curred in but seven of the twenty-six instances wdiere only 
one of the contracting parties was a Caesar by birth. Again, 

1 See Tables V, VI, VII. 

2 The apparent discrepancy is accounted for by the fact that Drusilla, 
daughter of Germanicus, was twice married to cousins: Caligula and 
Lepidus. 

3 Three of these eight married both relatives and strangers to the blood. 

4 The children of Rubellius Plautus. Ante, page 71. They have not been 
included here. 

5 Four of these married Caesars by birth, as well as strangers to the blood. 

[ 174 ] 





POPPiEA 









RESULTS AND CAUSES 

not counting the marriage of Germanicus and Agrippina, 
the number of whose children was so very exceptional as 
to warrant its exclusion in drawing a comparison of this 
kind,—especially where no similar abnormal factor exists 
on the other side,—it appears that while nine Julian inter¬ 
marriages produced only four children, twenty-six outside 
alliances added thirty-eight children to the imperial race. 
And if the five children of Julia and Agrippa be excluded 
from the one class as a sort of counterbalance to the ex¬ 
clusion of the Germanici from the other, the results as to 
the number of offspring would still be significantly dispro¬ 
portionate. 

But it may be said—and with a large degree of truth— 
that even if fewer Caesars by birth had intermarried, with 
a consequent increase in the number of their descendants, 
the fact would in no wise have prevented or even retarded 
the inevitable destruction of the family. Indeed, as already 
observed, at certain periods in the Julian history more 
Caesars would have merely implied more fuel for the 
flames, so that domestic murder would have raged more 
fiercely, and the destruction of the imperial house would, 
if anything, have been accelerated. And yet who can say 
what possibilities and advantages might not have resulted 
to the Julian line from a more frequent infusion of new 
and vigorous Roman blood, like that of Agrippa and Sila- 
nus? Such, for example, as the birth of another Silanus, 
who with all the courage and character of Lucius Junius, 
and a little better fortune than befell that unfortunate 
youth, might have destroyed Nero, revolutionized the Em¬ 
pire, and reestablished the supremacy of his house upon 
the solid foundations of humanity, purity, and truth. 

But speculation of this sort is not essential to the con¬ 
clusion that the too frequent intermarriages of the Caesars 
[ 175 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

contributed largely to the extinction of their race. For 
whether or not affected by the disproportionate number 
of offspring, the character of the children born of the two 
classes of marriages proved to be a matter of vital impor¬ 
tance to the duration of the house of Caesar. 

The difference in moral and mental traits of these two 
classes of offspring is well recognized both generally by 
physiologists and in the particular case by every one hav¬ 
ing the most casual acquaintance with the history of the 
imperial family of Caesar. Outside of those descendants of 
Augustus and Octavia whose parents were not nearly re¬ 
lated, there existed an undoubted line of mental aberra¬ 
tion in the Julian house, which in the case of Caligula and 
Nero developed into undoubted insanity. Now the appar¬ 
ently invariable tendency of a totally unrestrained mental 
unsoundness seems to be in the direction of some sort of 
vice. And in the absence of either moral or religious an¬ 
chorage—the old religion having lost its primitive grasp 
and Christianity not yet arrived, while morality and sanc¬ 
tity had become scarcely more than terms—it was per¬ 
haps to be expected that even where insanity might not 
be positively predicated, as this mental weakness was pres¬ 
ent in a greater or less degree, its possessors, open to all 
the unbridled license of imperial power, would exhibit a 
corresponding tendency both to the depravity of their an¬ 
cestors and the vices peculiar to their own surroundings 
and intimate associations, public and private. 

With a few noteworthy exceptions this conclusion is 
borne out by the facts, and in part accounts for some 
of those monstrous and shocking deeds which otherwise 
would remain incomprehensible. On the one side, among 
the offspring of Caesars whose blood was crossed in mar¬ 
riage, we find the first Julia, the two Antonias, the Mar- 
[ 176 ] 


RESULTS AND CAUSES 

celli, Germanicus and Agrippina, the two eldest sons of 
Julia and Agrippa, Rubellius Plautus and the two genera¬ 
tions of Silani; the lives of whom were, for that period, re¬ 
markably free from vice and evil tendencies, and of whom 
several on occasion displayed what would at any stage of 
social and moral attainment be considered a notable ele¬ 
vation of character. On the other hand, among the chil¬ 
dren of the family intermarriages were Caligula and Nero, 
Messalina, Julia and Drusilla, the sisters of Caligula, and 
Agrippina the younger. The first was an undoubted mad¬ 
man, the second presumably so; while Messalina certainly, 
and Julia and Drusilla, if guilty of the offences gravely 
recorded by Suetonius, must at least have suffered from 
what has been not inaptly termed “moral paralysis,” the 
existence of which it is difficult to conceive without pre¬ 
supposing some sort of mental unsoundness. As for the 
mother of Nero, she was, it is true, almost a genius. But 
her genius was of the Machiavellian order, between which 
and insanity the line must be very fine—a “nice barrier,” 
indeed. 

Exceptions to the proposition, however, readily occur to 
the mind in the case of Julia, the daughter of Augustus, 
her son Agrippa and her daughter Julia, and the second 
Livia, who, although the offspring of cross-marriages, ex¬ 
hibited something of that same moral lesion displayed by 
the daughter of Germanicus; the third Emperor, who, al¬ 
though the result of an admixture of Julian and Claudian 
blood, was by some thought to have been as mentally de¬ 
ficient as any descendant of imperial intermarriage; and 
finally Octavia and Britannic us, classed among the best and 
purest of their race—and yet the children of this same 
imbecile Claudius and his abominable Empress cousin! 
But upon reflection these apparent exceptions are seen to 
[ 177 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

be of slight consequence. In addition to the doctrine of 
eocceptio , it is to be remembered that the fact of white 
fowls occasionally having dark chickens does not affect 
the rule that black fowls ordinarily produce black chick¬ 
ens. In the case of Claudius, also, it is uncertain whether 
his mental infirmity was constitutional or the result of 
abusive treatment following a severe illness in childhood. 
As for Britannicus, it has already been observed that he 
died too young to confidently predicate upon his actual 
character; his terrible cousin in early life seems to have 
been quite as promising as the virtuous and lamented 
young Claudian. Octavia alone remains to contradict our 
general conclusion; and while science may, by some mys¬ 
terious principle of atavism, explain to its own satisfac¬ 
tion, mankind wih yet wonder how the union of Claudius 
and Messalina could produce that pure and virtuous daugh¬ 
ter of the Caesars, in whom had united three streams of 
the Julian blood, than which none more tainted with vice 
and impurity ever coursed in Roman veins. 

It remains only to inquire how far the children of in¬ 
termarriages and the offspring of outside imperial alliances 
were respectively responsible for the domestic murders by 
which the race of Caesar was destroyed. Although it is not 
pretended that the answer will furnish a true comparison 
between the criminal tendencies of the two kinds of off¬ 
spring, it will at least be a sort of test of the general propo¬ 
sition that too frequent intermarriage contributed in no 
small degree to the downfall of the family. 

From an analysis of the tables already referred to, it 
appears that of the thirty-five Csesars by birth who came 
to a violent end, four were killed by strangers, two by 
Csesars only one of whose ancestors was of the Julian 
blood, and eleven by persons who had married into the 
[ 178 ] 



POPPiE A 






RESULTS AND CAUSES 

family. As against this total number of seventeen deaths, 
eighteen Cassars by birth were put to death by the de¬ 
scendants of imperial intermarriages, who in the same 
way murdered seventeen relatives by marriage as against 
thirteen destroyed by all the others. To put it more di¬ 
rectly, Augustus and Claudius, each of whom had only 
one parent of the Julian blood, together destroyed two 
blood relatives and six relatives by marriage—in all, eight ; l 
while Messalina, Agrippina, Caligula, and Nero, the chil¬ 
dren of intermarriages among the Caesars, put to death 
thirty-five in the aggregate, of whom eighteen were Ceesars 
by birth and seventeen relatives by marriage. 

And thus we have finally arrived at the inevitable con¬ 
clusion that, as in the case of so many humbler and less 
pretentious families, the house of Caesar was destroyed 
from within and by its own vices alone. From the highest 
pitch of nobility and grandeur it fell to the lowest depths 
of shame and infamy; until at last, in the imperial city it 
had created, and in the shadow of the magnificent Golden 
House which was to have been its home for generations, 
its last drop of blood was yielded in expiation of the family 
crimes. In the mad and utterly selfish struggle for individ¬ 
ual supremacy, its sons and daughters had deliberately se¬ 
lected domestic murder as their most available handmaid; 
and in the unlicensed enjoyment and unrestrained abuse 
of the power and privileges thus fearfully acquired, they 
had broken down the bars of domestic purity, they had 
violated the sanctity of marriage, they had trampled upon 
every law, divine and human, and finally, through an in¬ 
sane pride in the pretended “divinity” of the Julian line, 

1 In this computation Claudius is charged with the death of only one 
Caesar, as it is conceded that of all the others put to death during his 
reign Messalina was the true murderer. 

[ 179 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

they had endeavored to perpetuate their worn-out race 
through repeated intermarriages. God and Nature again 
intervened; and as the death of the first Caesar was the 
inexorable demand of social evolution, in whose trium¬ 
phant progress the individual who has performed his part, 
whether relatively great or small, and by whose continued 
presence events are retarded, is ruthlessly brushed aside; 
so the final extinction of the Julian race was the ultimate 
penalty exacted by Nature and its Creator of those who, 
by presuming to extirpate virtue and deify themselves, 
displayed the mad ambition of subjecting all mankind to 
their own lawless desires. Another and a mightier force 
was gathering, another and an infinitely grander sover¬ 
eignty was preparing, and it became necessary that the last 
vestiges of what had almost become an accepted family 
apotheosis under the shelter of a dangerous imperialism, 
should be dislodged from men’s minds and swept away 
into the abyss, before Christianity could assume its eter¬ 
nal place as the moral and religious balance of the uni¬ 
verse. The first Ceesar had lived and was gone. Christ had 
died—and was come again. Both had been misunderstood 
—as Emerson says, every great spirit always has been 
misunderstood; both were to regain their rightful places 
in the history of the world and in the story of the Spirit. 
But those other Csesars, upon the crumbled ruins of whose 
house the sovereignty of Peter was to rise—what shall 
be said of them? We believe that as long as virtue is seen 
to be fair and vice remains hideous, the very names of 
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero will be esteemed 
abominable by mankind; while the good which appears 
not unabundantly during the last years of Augustus can¬ 
not avail to entirely overcome our horror and detestation 
of the cruelty and wickedness which disfigured the early 
[ 180 ] 


RESULTS AND CAUSES 

part of his reign. In the dramatic words of a great modern 
artist, for the most part they passed “as a whirlwind, as a 
storm, as a fire, as war or death passes; but the basilica of 
Peter rules till now from the Vatican heights the city and 
the world.” 


[ 181 ] 


NOTE TO CHAPTER XII 


I N his delightful “Tragedy of the Caesars,” although 
modestly termed by the author a mere “iconographic 
essay,” Mr. S. Baring-Gould has made a serious attempt 
to vindicate the character of the Emperor Tiberius, and 
incidentally of the Empress Livia Augusta and of Agrip¬ 
pina, the mother of Nero. In the introductory chapter the 
author states that his study was inspired by the portrait- 
busts of the early Caesars in the Italian museums, and in 
the body of the text appears the following: 

“In the galleries of Rome, of Naples and Florence 
one sees the beautiful face of Tiberius, with that intel¬ 
lectual brow and sensitive mouth, looking pleadingly at 
the passer-by, as though seeking for some who would un¬ 
lock the secret of his story and vindicate his much-aspersed 
memory.” 

Gallantly indeed has the author responded to that mute 
appeal of the dead Caesar, and it must be admitted that if 
Tiberius can be successfully defended, and the character 
of Agrippina the younger can be rehabilitated, the defence 
and the right to rehabilitation have been established in the 
pages of his work. 

To secure a verdict, however, it is necessary not only to 
refute the unanimous testimony of the ancient writers,— 
Tacitus, Dion Cassius, Suetonius, and the others,—but as 
well to overcome almost the entire consensus of modern 
historical opinion. The author accomplishes it to his own 
entire satisfaction by first disposing of all the early histo¬ 
rians and biographers except the son-in-law of Agricola, 
with the omnium blow that they are unworthy of credence, 
[ 182 ] 



BRIT ANN ICUS 

























* 































































































NOTE TO CHAPTER XII 

their stories being founded on no better evidence than 
“Roman gossip and lampoons”; whereupon it only re¬ 
mains to perfect a most beautiful case of physiognomy 
vs. Tacitus, in which to the honor of the advocate be it 
said, the argument as a whole is more ingenuous than 
ingenious. Although a basis of fact is attempted, the 
strongest part of the author’s contention seems to be that 
all those beautiful busts of Tiberius with the intellectual 
brow, the sensitive mouth, and above all the “pleading, 
sorrowful look,” cannot indicate such a character as Taci¬ 
tus describes. “There is in it [the face of Tiberius] not 
a trace of coarseness, of sensuality, of cruelty;” while 
he does not share “the opinion of Bernoulli that hard 
thoughts slumber under the brows.” In the same way, 
referring to Nero’s mother, who is characterized as “one 
of the grandest women of history,” he says: “When I 
showed photographs of this statue of Agrippina to Mr. 
Conrad Dressier, the sculptor, the exclamation that es¬ 
caped him was, ‘What a lady, what a true and royal 
lady!’ And that is the impression the pure, proud, and 
refined face makes on all attentive students.” 

The “Tragedy of the Caesars” displays plainly the edu¬ 
cated and enthusiastic physiognomist. As a scholarly and 
charming essay on the Cassarean busts, it is both a valuable 
contribution to the student and a delightful morceau for 
those who are compelled to read as they run. But to the 
ordinary reader, familiar with the “Annals,” and at all 
appreciative of its author’s character, dignity, and fine 
sense of loyalty to historic truth, to overcome one’s con¬ 
ceptions of Tiberius, Agrippina, and the others, which are 
based largely upon the express statements of this incom¬ 
parable history, will require far weightier evidence than 
the deductions of the physiognomist and the phrenologist 
[ 183 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

—especially when the first proposition rests upon a more 
or less unattested marble bust some two thousand years 
old. And, for that matter, however pure and refined the 
features and expression of the second Emperor, accepting 
the picture of Tacitus as fact, his would not be the only 
case where the countenance of an angel has been linked 
with the deeds of a devil . 1 

Any attempt to vindicate Tiberius inevitably compels a 
defence of Livia and Agrippina Minor, and at the same 
time necessitates bearing down upon Octavia, Agrippina 
the elder, and Germanicus. We are therefore not sur¬ 
prised to find that in Mr. Baring-Gould’s essay Livia is 
freed from the charge of domestic murder whatsoever, 
and the mother of Nero acquitted of all similar indict¬ 
ments, including the charge of poisoning Claudius. More¬ 
over, in order to clear the character of Agrippina, it has 
been necessary to relieve Nero from the charge of destroy¬ 
ing Britannicus. For it will be remembered that the mo¬ 
tive of Nero’s alleged crime (as related by Tacitus 2 ) was 
Agrippina’s angry threat to overturn her son by enlisting 
the soldiers in the interest of Britannicus. The surest, if 
not the only way to dispose of such a reflection upon one 
of the “grandest women in history” was to prove that Nero 
did not murder his cousin. The entire contest between 
physiognomist and historian might well rest upon the case 
of Britannicus, as presented in the essay under considera¬ 
tion 3 and in the pages of Tacitus. Earlier in the argu¬ 
ment the latter is charged with lack of information; again, 
with having derived his facts from the partisan memoirs 

1 Milady Clarik, in Les Trois Mousquetaires, is a striking example of this 
suggestion. Fiction, it is true; but the fiction of the great Dumas is the 
indisputable history of human nature. 

2 Annals, xiii. 13 et seq. 3 Tragedy of the Caesars , page 554. 

[ 184 ] 


NOTE TO CHAPTER XII 

of Agrippina. But this is the “last ditch.” The murder of 
Britannicus must be disproved or the beautiful tenement 
which has been erected for Agrippina will disappear; and 
in his desperate plight our author does not scruple to in¬ 
sinuate deliberate misrepresentation on the part of the 
great historian. “It is more probable,” he says, “that Taci¬ 
tus feigned the threat of Agrippina in order to give plau¬ 
sibility to his tragic story of a crime which he felt was with¬ 
out motive .” 1 And then, after asserting that we must receive 
the stories of poison with the greatest mistrust, and ridi¬ 
culing the other motives attributed to Nero, he declares 
it incredible both that all the details of the alleged poison¬ 
ing could be given with such minuteness and that the 
hitherto amiable and harmless Emperor could have con¬ 
trived and carried out so hideous a fratricide; and con¬ 
cludes by saying that “Seneca, moreover, must have been 
the most despicable of men had he written his treatise on 
Clemency with the knowledge that he whom he praised 
therein was stained with his brother’s blood.” 

The author’s attempt to strengthen his argument by a 
conclusion drawn from the conduct of Seneca is unfortu¬ 
nate. The mind naturally reverts to the part played by 
this moral preceptor in the murder of Agrippina—in re¬ 
gard to which, by the way, our author’s usual ingenuous¬ 
ness is not manifested. When the first failure of Anicetus 
was reported and Nero summoned his friends for counsel, 
Seneca, according to the “Tragedy,” “knew not what to 
say, what to advise, and when Burrhus was bidden to send 
soldiers to kill the Empress, he bluntly replied that the 
praetorians would never draw the sword against the daugh¬ 
ter of Germanicus.” But from whom came the suggestion 

1 Compare with a statement of Tacitus as to the sources of his informa¬ 
tion, Annals , xi. 27, quoted ante , page 115. 

[ 185 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

that Burrhus should be called upon to perform the evil 
deed? According to Tacitus, it came from the virtuous 
Seneca himself ! 1 The charge is directly made in the same 
paragraph which contains the reply of Burrhus, quoted 
as sufficiently proven by our author, who however appar¬ 
ently considers the great historian untrustworthy when it 
comes to a reflection upon Seneca, who was too aston¬ 
ishingly virtuous to have praised in his treatise a possible 
fratricide. As for the suggestion of incredibility that Nero 
could have committed the crime and that its details could 
have been so minutely known, what is there in it more 
incredible than that this abominable young egoist could 
have murdered his own mother, and that posterity could 
have information of the veriest details of that terrible 
crime, as related by our author himself? 

The murder of Postumus Agrippa at the threshold of 
the reign of Tiberius is another stubborn fact to be ex¬ 
plained in any vindication of his adoptive brother. It is 
admitted that Tiberius was the only one to profit by 
Agrippa’s death, that the hapless grandson of Augustus 
was slain by a centurion acting, as he afterwards declared 
in his official report, by command of Livia’s son, and that 
the proposed investigation before the Senate was checked 
by the Augusta. Now let the unbiassed reader turn to the 
first book of the “Annals,” where the circumstances are 
dispassionately related, and then consider the proposition 
gravely advanced by our author, who, unable to get away 
from the facts, adopts the theory that Agrippa was put to 
death by the orders of Augustus , to save Rome from civil 
war! 

If ever a cruel and crafty nature betrayed itself be¬ 
yond the possibility of subsequent contradiction or expla- 
1 Annals, xiv. 7. 


[ 186 ] 



BRITAN NIC US 









































































































































































- 























































































































NOTE TO CHAPTER XII 

nation, it was manifested in the destruction of Sejanus by 
the second Emperor. Decoyed into the Senate by false as¬ 
surances on the part of the Emperors personal lieutenant, 
that he was to be invested with the tribunitian author¬ 
ity, the unfortunate though guilty minister unsuspiciously 
listened to a long and purposely involved communication, 
which, after first referring to Sejanus in not unkind terms, 
branched off upon other subjects, and to the unbounded 
astonishment of all, abruptly closed by ordering the arrest 
of the favorite, who was at once savagely butchered under 
the directions of his imperial master’s personal envoy. 

The facts are not denied by our author, whose explana¬ 
tion is that this maliciously cruel letter was written by 
the Emperor in a tumult of nervous terrors and with his 
mind unhinged by loss of confidence in the man he had 
so blindly loved. But what can be thought of the char¬ 
acter of one whose love would seek revenge so diabolically 
planned? And indeed what can be thought of the “love” 
which this refined and sensitive Emperor—he of the 
“intellectual brow,” of the tender, womanly countenance, 
which betrayed so plainly a great “kindliness restrained 
by timidity”—had cherished for this notorious ministerial 
bandit during all the years of his savage career? It was 
rather the love of a tiger for his marauding associate—a 
love from which might be expected just such fruits as 
appeared, when following the shameful indignities which 
during three days were publicly bestowed upon the corpse 
of Sejanus, his innocent little children were destroyed un¬ 
der circumstances of such unutterable horror that the mind 
shrinks from the very thought of the story as told by the 
historian. 

Our author’s views as to the character and death of the 
elder Agrippina, whose “ambition and blind hate” he de- 
[ 187 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

dares brought ruin on her own house as well as on that of 
the Claudians, are also directly opposed to the testimony 
of the ancient writers. That he has entirely misunderstood 
the character and virtues of this one really magnificent 
woman in the long line of depraved females of Julian de¬ 
scent, seems evident from a remark in reference to her 
death. Confined for years in fatal Pandataria, still mourn¬ 
ing her idolized husband, whose untimely end in the full 
flush of successful manhood she fully believed was due 
to the arts of Tiberius; her two eldest sons having per¬ 
ished miserably in prison, her three daughters guilty of 
shameful offences, abandoned by her remaining son, the 
depraved and unfeeling Caius, who, concerned only for 
his own safety and prospective advancement, was basely 
truckling to the whims of his father’s reputed murderer; 
beaten and disfigured by her brutal captors and with ab¬ 
solute assurance that her freedom would never be restored 
—one might think that here would be reasons enough for 
the utter extinction of hope in this concededly proud, 
sensitive, high-strung, and severely virtuous daughter of a 
lordly race whose descendants had been rudely supplanted 
by a stranger to the sacred Julian blood. And yet our 
author naively wonders that “at this critical period of her 
life, when common sense would have told her that her 
uncle, in his seventy-fifth year, was rapidly failing, and 
that her own son [the vile and cowardly ‘Little Boots!’] 
would succeed him in the absolute sway of the world, she 
resolved to die.” And from this “strange caprice so reso¬ 
lutely pursued,” he derives the inevitable conclusion that 
Agrippina (who plainly had so much to live for) was in¬ 
sane; casually remarking that “this rejection of food [the 
dying princess having refused to eat] is one form in which 
the suicidal mania among the insane manifests itself.” 

[ 188 ] 


NOTE TO CHAPTER XII 

Agrippina’s insanity thus established, much of the Em¬ 
peror’s conduct towards her, as reported by Tacitus, as¬ 
sumes a different aspect. The confinement at Hercula¬ 
neum, for example, where after a stormy interview with 
Tiberius, in which the proud and spirited widow of Ger- 
manicus did not scruple to upbraid him for all the evil he 
had inflicted upon her family, one of her eyes was beaten 
out by a centurion; all this is airily explained away by 
saying that if hurt at all it must have occurred “whilst 
being restrained in her violence.” And where the theory of 
insanity is unavailable, Tiberius is acquitted of his alleged 
inhumanity to his nephew’s widow by charging Agrip¬ 
pina with a conspiracy against the Emperor and finally 
even insinuating that she may have been privy to the 
murder of the Emperor’s son Drusus—for one word sug¬ 
gestive of which accusation the pages of history will be 
ransacked in vain. But as our author convincingly ob¬ 
serves, how else can we explain the continued incarcera¬ 
tion of Agrippina and her son by the Emperor, except 
upon the theory that they had been implicated in an at¬ 
tempt upon his life ? 1 

Another manifest advantage results from this theory of 
Agrippina’s insanity. If the mother was insane, what more 
probable than that the son Drusus was also deranged? 
And in that event how natural that he also should be 
confined by his sympathetic relative—“restrained in his 
violence”—in the salubrious dungeons of the Palatine; 
thus accounting for his terrible denunciation of the Em¬ 
peror as the murderer of his race 2 (which Tacitus tells us 
was wrung from him in the agonies of starvation) as the 
mere raving of a madman. “If we accept the stories of 
Suetonius and Tacitus of the dissolute morals of Tiberius 

1 Tragedy of the Caesars, pages 350 et seq. 2 Ante, page 69 . 

[ 189 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

in his old age, then we must suppose he was insane,” says 
the author of the “Tragedy.” This he refuses to do. But 
in the case of Agrippina and Drusus he can account for 
the difficulties and reconcile the apparent contradictions 
only by predicating insanity; and to this he sees no ob¬ 
jection. 

The noble Octavia, beloved by Augustus, lauded by 
Plutarch, and as the writer had supposed universally con¬ 
ceded to have been a woman of extraordinary merit and 
generosity of temperament—she also suffers from the 
demonstrations of physiognomy. Her son Marcellus, it 
will be remembered, met an untimely death, soon after 
his marriage to Julia, the daughter of Augustus; and his 
supposed poisoning was among the crimes laid at the door 
of the Augusta. Says the author of the “Tragedy” 1 : “The 
intensity of the grief and disappointment of Octavia at 
the loss of her son on whom she had not only set her 
heart, but also her ambition, was, if not greater than that 
of Augustus, at least more demonstrative and less mea¬ 
sured. ... It was a short step from frantic grief and dis¬ 
appointed rage, to make accusation against the guiltless 
Li via of having contrived the death of Marcellus. If the 
reader will look back at the face of Octavia he will see that 
under all the heaviness of expression, there lurks an ugly 
unreasoning temper .” 

Whatever may be the expression of the Louvre bust, 
“an ugly unreasoning temper” had no place in the char¬ 
acter of the considerate, unselfish, and generous-minded 
Octavia, as sketched by Plutarch, and once more we must 
decline to conform a long-cherished mental image, origi¬ 
nally outlined by the fathers of biography and history, to 
the unsupported deductions of an inexact science. 

1 Page 174. 


[ 190 ] 



TOWER 


FROM WHICH NERO WATCHED THE BURNING OF THE CITY 

























NOTE TO CHAPTER XII 

But however tempting the subject, the limits of this 
sketch forbid a further discussion of Mr. Baring-Gould’s 
fascinating study. Enough has been stated to suggest the 
line of his argument, which must be read in its entirety to 
be appreciated—and to which, as the writer is convinced, 
there must then be returned the verdict of “Unproven.” 


[ 191 ] 



Lucius Juxius Torquatus Silaxus Rubellius Plautus Axtoxia (3) Octavia (3) Britaxxicus Julia Drusilla 













































































APPENDIX TO 
PART I 



APPENDIX 


TABLE I 

VICTIMS OF THE CvESARS 

Julius Caesar. The founder of the Family. 

Assassinated by Cassius , Brutus , and others. 

Cneius Pompey Magnus. Caesar s son-in-law. 

Assassinated by one of his centurions and Egyptian 
soldiers. 

Marcellus. Son-in-law of Augustus. 

Destroyed by Livia Augusta. 

Caius Caesar. Son of Julia and Agrippa. 

Destroyed by Livia Augusta. 

Lucius Caesar. Son of Julia and Agrippa. 

Destroyed by Livia Augusta. 

C^esario. Reputed son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. 
Put to death by Augustus. 

Lucius Paulus. Husband of Julia, granddaughter of 
Augustus. 

Put to death by Augustus. 

Mark Antony. Brother-in-law of Augustus. 

Committed suicide. 

Cleopatra. Wife of Antony. 

Committed suicide. 

Julius Antonius. Son of Antony. 

Put to death by Augustus. 

Antyllus. Son of Antony. 

Put to death by Augustus. 

[ 195 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

Julia. Daughter of Augustus. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Julia. Granddaughter of Augustus. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Postumus Agrippa. Brother of the last-mentioned. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Germanicus. Nephew of Tiberius. 

Put to death by Livia. 

Nero. Son of Germanicus. 

Put to death by Tiberius and Sejanus. 

Drusus. Son of Germanicus. 

Put to death by Tiberius and Sejanus. 

Tiberius the Emperor. 

Put to death by Macro and Caligula. 

Drusus Minor. Son of Tiberius. 

Put to death bu Livia the younger. 

Livia. Wife of the last-mentioned and daughter of Ger¬ 
manicus. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Agrippina. Granddaughter of Augustus and wife of Ger¬ 
manicus. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Asinius Gallus. Second husband of Vipsania Agrip¬ 
pina, the wife of Tiberius. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

^Emilia Lepida. Wife of Drusus, the son of Germanicus. 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Claudia Pulchra (?). 

Put to death by Tiberius. 

Titus Ollius. Father of Popp^ea. 

Put to death by Sejanus. 

[ 196 ] 


APPENDIX 


Tiberius Gemellus. Grandson of Tiberius. 

Put to death by Caligula. 

Lepidus. Great-grandson of Augustus. 

Put to death by Caligula . 

Caligula the Emperor. 

Put to death by Chcerea. 

Antonia. Mother of Germanicus. 

Put to death by Caligula. 

Claudia. Daughter of the Emperor Claudius. 

Put to death by Claudius. 

Julia Drusilla. Daughter of Caligula. 

Put to death by Lupus. 

Cjesonia. Wife of Caligula. 

Put to death by Lupus. 

Ptolemy. Grandson of Cleopatra. 

Put to death by Caligula. 

Julia. Daughter of Germanicus. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina. 

Julia. Granddaughter of Tiberius. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina. 
Messalina. Wife of Claudius. 

Put to death by Narcissus . 

Lepida. Aunt of Nero. 

Put to death by Agrippina. 

Claudius the Emperor. 

Put to death by Agrippina. 

Lucius Silanus. Great-great-grandson of Augustus. 

Put to death by Agrippina. 

Lollia Paulina. Wife of Caligula. 

Put to death by Agrippina. 

[ 197 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAll 

Cneius Pompey. Son-in-law of Claudius. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina. 

Marcus Vinicius. Husband of Julia, the daughter of 
Germanicus. 

Put to death by Messalina . 

Appius Junius Silanus. Husband of ^Emilia Lepida, 
great-granddaughter of Augustus. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina. 

Passienus. Husband of Domitia Lepida (and of Agrip¬ 
pina Minor). 

Put to death by Agrippina. 

Crassus Frugi. Father of Cneius Pompey. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina . 

Scribonia. Mother of Cneius Pompey. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina. 

Poppjea Sabina. Mother of the Empress Popp^ea. 

Put to death by Claudius and Messalina . 

Marcus Junius Silanus. Great-great-grandson of Augus¬ 
tus. 

Put to death by Agrippina . 

Torquatus Silanus. Brother of Marcus Junius Silanus. 
Put to death by Nero. 

Lucius Junius Silanus. Great-great-great-grandson of 
Augustus. 

Put to death by Nero . 

Britannicus. Son of the Emperor Claudius. 

Put to death by Nero . 

Rubellius Plautus. Great-grandson of Tiberius. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Agrippina Minor. Mother of Nero. 

Put to death by Nero. 

[ 198 ] 


APPENDIX 


Octayia. Daughter of Claudius and wife of Nero. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Antonia. Daughter of Claudius. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Domitia Lepida. Aunt of Nero. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Popple a. Wife of Nero. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Antistia. Wife of Rubellius Plautus. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Caius Faustus Sylla. Son-in-law of Claudius. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Rufius Crispinus. First husband of Popp^ea. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Rufinus Crispinus. Son of Poppjea. 

Put to death by Nei'O. 

Antistius Vetus. Father of the wife of Plautus. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Sextia. Grandmother of the wife of Plautus. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Atticus Vestinus. First husband of the second Messa- 
lina, wife of Nero. 

Put to death by Nero. 

Nero. 

Committed suicide. 


TABLE II 
PERISHED IN EXILE 

Lucius Antony. Son of Julia. 

Banished by Augustus and died in eocile. 

[ 199 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 


TABLE III 

(LESARS WHO DIED FROM NATURAL CAUSES 

Julia. Daughter of Julius Caesar. 

Augustus. 

Domitius Ahenobarbus. Father of Nero. 

Drusus. Infant son of the Emperor Claudius. 

Caius. Infant son of Drusus Minor. 

Octavia Minor. Sister of Augustus. 

Drusilla. Wife of Caligula. 

Augusta. Infant child of Nero. 

Infant Child of Julia and Pompey the Great. 

Infant Son of Julia and Tiberius. 

Infant Son of Germanicus. 

Infant Daughter of Germanicus. 

Infant Daughter of Germanicus. 

Liyia Augusta. 

Li via Medullina. Wife of Caligula. 

Vipsania Agrippina. Wife of Tiberius. 

Junia Claudia. Wife of Caligula. 

Messalina. Wife of Nero. 

Drusus. Brother of Tiberius. 

Drusus was killed by a fall from his horse while prose¬ 
cuting the war in Germany . 


[ 200 ] 


APPENDIX 


TABLE IV 

CLESARS WHOSE DEATH IS UNTRACED 
Valerius Messala Barbatus. Father of Messalina. 

Oct avia Major. Half-sister of Augustus. 

^Emilia Lepida. Great-granddaughter of Augustus. 
Marcella Major. Daughter of Octavia. 

Marcella Minor. Daughter of Octavia. 

Junia Lepida. Great-great-granddaughter of Augustus. 
Junia Calvina. Great-great-granddaughter of Augustus. 

Antonia. Daughter of Octavia and grandmother of 
Nero. 

Barbatus Messala. Husband of Marcella Minor. 

Rubellius Blandus. Husband of Julia, the granddaugh¬ 
ter of Tiberius. 

Livia Orestilla. Wife of Caligula. 

Cossutia. Wife of Julius Caesar. 

Cornelia. Wife of Julius Caesar. 

Calpurnia. Wife of Julius Caesar. 

Claudia. Wife of Augustus. 

Scribonia. Wife of Augustus. 

^Elia P^etina. Wife of Claudius. 

Plautia Urgulanilla. Wife of Claudius. 


[ 201 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 


TABLE V 

CiESARS WHO INTERMARRIED 

Marcellus. Son of Octavia. 

Married Julia , daughter of Augustus. 

Caius Caesar. Grandson of Augustus. 

Married JLivia , granddaughter of Octavia. 
Germanicus. Grandson of Octavia. 

Married Agrippina , granddaughter of Augustus. 
Nero. Son of Germanicus. 

Married Julia , niece of Germanicus. 

Marcus Lepidus. Great-grandson of Augustus. 

Married Drusilla , the great-granddaughter of Octavia. 
Caligula. Great-grandson of both Augustus and Octavia. 
Married Drusilla , the great-granddaughter of Octavia 
and of Augustus. 

Claudius. Grandson of Octavia. 

Married Messalina , a&o Agrippina , each a great-grand¬ 
daughter of Octavia. 

Valerius Mess ala Barbatus. Grandson of Octavia. 

Married Lepida , the great-granddaughter of Octavia. 
Domitius Ahenobarbus. Grandson of Octavia. 

Married Agrippina , great-granddaughter of Octavia. 
Nero. Great-grandson of Octavia. 

Married Octavia , great-great-granddaughter of Oc¬ 
tavia. 


[ 202 ] 


APPENDIX 


TABLE VI 

MALE C.ESARS WHO MARRIED OUTSIDE THE FAMILY 

Julius Caesar. 

Augustus. 

Marcus Junius Silanus. Great-great-grandson of Au¬ 
gustus. 

Drusus. Son of Germanicus. 

Caligula. 

Claudius. 

Rubellius Plautus. Grandson of Tiberius. 

Nero. 


TABLE VII 

FEMALE CiESARS WHO MARRIED OUTSIDE THE 
FAMILY 

Julia. Daughter of Julius Caesar. 

Married Pompey the Great . 

Julia. Daughter of Augustus. 

Married Agrippa; also Tiberius . 

Julia. Granddaughter of Augustus. 

Married Lucius Paulus . 

^Emilia Lepida. Great-granddaughter of Augustus. 

Married Appius Junius Silanus . 

Antonia Minor. Daughter of Octavia. 

Married Drusus Major . 

Antonia. Daughter of Octavia. 

Married Cneius Domitius Ahenobarbus . 

[ 203 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Antonia. Daughter of Claudius. 

Married Pompey; also Sylla . 

Domitia Lepida. Nero’s aunt. 

Married Passienus . 

Julia. Granddaughter of Tiberius. 

Married Rubellius Plautus . 

Livia Minor. 

Married Drusus Minor} 

Junia Lepida. Great-great-granddaughter of Augustus. 
Married a son of Vitellius . 

Junia Calyina. Great-great-granddaughter of Augustus. 

Married Cassius Longinus . 

Octavia Major. Half-sister of Augustus. 

Married 

Octavia Minor. Sister of Augustus. 

Married Antony and Marcellus . 

Marcella Major. Daughter of Octavia. 

Married Agrippa; also Julius Antonius . 

Marcella Minor. Daughter of Octavia. 

Married Barbatus Messala. 

Julia. Daughter of Germanicus. 

Married Lucius Cassius . 

1 Livia and Drusus were cousins german through their fathers, Drusus and 
Tiberius. 


[ 204 ] 


PART II 

THE IMPERIAL DISEASE 


% 






































































LOOKING DOWN TIIE SACRA VIA, TOWARDS THE ARCH OF TITUS AND THE COLOSSEUM 






















THE IMPERIAL DISEASE 


CHAPTER I 


COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 
From Galba to Marcus Aurelius: 69-180 A. D. 


G ALBA: 69 a. d. The death of Nero, as observed 
by Tacitus, disclosed a secret of the Empire; 
namely, that an Emperor might be created else¬ 
where than at Rome. The disclosure was fatal in its con¬ 
sequences : again and again was the Empire torn by the 
bloody contention of rival claimants to the purple, whose 
standards had been raised in different parts of the state, 
and whose ambitions would, as a rule, have been stifled 
at birth if to Rome alone the choice of Caesar had been 
consigned. 

Servius Sulpicius Galba, the sixth Emperor, was born 
near Naples in the year 3 b. c. He was of noble extraction 
and is said to have been distantly related to the Empress 
Li via, although unconnected by birth or adoption with 
the family of the Caesars. 

The genealogical table which Galba erected for himself 
in the atrium of the palace proclaimed that on the side 
of his father the Emperor was descended from Jupiter, 
and on that of his mother from Pasiphae, daughter of the 
Sun. 

The first Emperor is alleged to have prophesied that 
Galba would taste the imperial dignity; while Tiberius, 
being told that the young man would come to be Em¬ 
peror, although at an advanced age, exclaimed, “Let him 
live then, since that does not concern me.” 

[ 207 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Rising through the various grades of public office to 
the consulship, the province of Spain was at length be¬ 
stowed upon him by Nero. The news of the insurrection 
in Gaul and the appeal of Vindex that he should head 
the revolt against the oppressor at Rome came to Galba 
in the spring of the year 68. Fear of his imperial master, 
however, restrained him from taking active steps until 
proclaimed by the army, whereupon he marched straight 
to Rome. His progress is said to have been marked with 
blood, while his entry into the city, accompanied by a 
Spanish legion, appears to have been signalized by the 
massacre of several thousands of unarmed men. However 
this may be, the old soldier, who seems not to have been 
wanting in stern virtues, speedily became unpopular with 
both praetorians and the people, and finally lost the sup¬ 
port of even his few intimate friends. By the former (to 
whom he bluntly declared that he chose his soldiers and 
would not buy them) he was charged with a breach of 
faith in refusing the customary largess; and when the peo¬ 
ple learned that the Emperor was governed by incapable 
and profligate favorites, and that all the worst abuses of 
the last reign might be expected, with none of its liberal¬ 
ity and extravagant spectacles, Galba’s fate was sealed. 
The storm broke among the German legions; Otho, the 
profligate companion of the last Caesar, was proclaimed 
by the praetorians, and the rebels marched on Rome. Ac¬ 
companied by a single cohort which was faithful to him, 
the Emperor had left the palace and proceeded to the 
Forum. At the Curtian Lake, 1 near the rostra, he was met 
by the praetorians, who no sooner appeared than Galba’s 
standard-bearer tore off the Emperor’s image and dashed 

1 An inclosure in the Forum, which marked the spot where Curtius leaped 
into the lake once situated there. 

[ 208 ] 


COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

it to the ground; whereupon the soldiers with one voice 
declared for Otho. The men who carried Galba’s litter let 
him fall to the ground and fled. Abandoned by all, the 
aged Emperor bravely presented his head, saying with a 
firm voice, “Strike if the good of the commonwealth de¬ 
mands it.” He was speedily hacked to pieces, and his head 
borne in triumph to Otho, by whose orders it was fixed 
upon a spear and carried in derision around the camp. 
After being subjected to various indignities, his remains 
were buried in his own gardens near the Aurelian Way. 
He had reigned seven months. His character is perhaps 
fittingly described in the caustic remark of Tacitus: “The 
suffrages of mankind would have pronounced him worthy 
of empire, had he never made the experiment.” 

Otho : 69 a. d. The atrocities attending the elevation 
of Otho to the imperial office formed a disastrous omen of 
things to come. Piso Licinianus, a man of noble character, 
who had been chosen and publicly proclaimed by Galba 
as his successor, was dragged from the temple of Vesta, 
where his person should have been sacred, and ruthlessly 
butchered by Otho’s order. The favorite and justly detested 
Vinius was the next victim, following whose death came 
that of the few remaining friends of Galba; and “after a 
day of guilt and carnage,” says the historian, “the joys 
that succeeded completed the climax of abominations.” 
The fathers decreed to Otho the name of Augustus and 
all imperial honors which had been enjoyed by former 
Caesars, and the murderer of Galba was conveyed trium¬ 
phantly through the bloody Forum, past heaps of headless 
Roman citizens, to the imperial palace, where, as he flat¬ 
tered himself, he was now to be the master of revels in 
which thus far he had merely assisted. 

[ 209 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

His joy was short-lived. During the very first night of 
his imperial grandeur he was tortured by horrible dreams, 
in which the ghost of the murdered Galba threatened him 
with a drawn sword; and the Emperor, in a frenzy of fear, 
ro ed out of bed shrie ing for his guards. Almost imme¬ 
diately also came the mutiny of the German legions, who 
took an oath to Vitellius, as Emperor, and advanced upon 
Italy. Otho first endeavored to conciliate Vitellius by of¬ 
fering him a share in the Empire. But the commander 
of the Rhine legions refused to divide the gift of his sol¬ 
diers. Otho, in the meantime, by again setting up the 
statues of Nero, by restoring his friends to place and of¬ 
fice and promising the speedy completion of the Golden 
House, and above all by announcing his intention to obey 
the laws and govern equitably, had acquired a very con¬ 
siderable support in Rome. Upon the failure of his nego¬ 
tiations with Vitellius, he prepared vigorously for war, and, 
after assembling the neighboring legions and the praetorian 
cohorts, marched to intercept the Germans. The first pas¬ 
sage was favorable to the Emperor, but at a great battle 
near Cremona, where forty thousand were slain, the troops 
of Vitellius were successful. Although the Emperor’s re¬ 
sources were still far from contemptible,—it would have 
been mere child’s play for the first Cassar to have turned 
the defeat into a glorious victory,—he preferred to accept 
the verdict as final. He gave a great dinner to his offi¬ 
cers and friends, to whom he finally addressed a farewell 
speech, declaring that he was unwilling to cause further 
bloodshed. When the feast ended, he retired to his room, 
wrote a letter of consolation to the widow of Nero, whom 
he had intended to marry, 1 committing his ashes to her 
care, and then slept calmly until daybreak, when he drew 
1 Messalina, Nero’s third wife. Ante, page 156. 

[ 210 ] 



GALBA 






























































































COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

a dagger from under his pillow and stabbed himself to 
death. He had reigned barely three months and had just 
completed his thirty-seventh year. The reckless and vicious 
associate and abetter in Nero’s abominable depravity, it 
has been well said that in all his life nothing became Otho 
so well as his manner of leaving it. His funeral was cele¬ 
brated at Brixellum, where he died, and in commendation 
of his fortitude many of his soldiers killed themselves at 
his pyre. One can but wonder which was the most dis¬ 
torted, the character of the suicides or their conception of 
the character of the Emperor slain by his own hand. 

V itellius : 69 a. d. Early in the reign of Galba, For- 
tenis Capito, who had assumed imperial rights in Lower 
Germany, of which he was governor, had been slain by 
Valens, legate of one of the legions—not improbably to 
remove a witness of the murderer’s own abortive intrigues. 
Galba sent to Germany as general in place of Capito, A ulus 
Vitellius, a man without military or indeed any special dis¬ 
tinction, except that of having been what Suetonius terms 
“scandalously vicious.” Vitellius is considered to have been 
of mean birth, although his grandfather was a Roman 
knight and procurator under the first Ceesar, and his father 
was a censor and under the Emperor Claudius second in 
rank in the Empire. After attaining the purple, when it 
became necessary to proclaim a more extended genealogy, 
no difficulty was found in tracing his descent from an early 
King of Latium and Vitellia, a Sabine divinity. As the 
companion and favorite of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, 
and Nero, Vitellius had become an adept in all the vices 
and depravity of the age. While superintendent of the 
public works he practised the most shameless robbery, and 
after squandering everything that he could steal, is said to 
[ 211 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CA ESAR 

have poisoned his son in order to inherit the latter’s for¬ 
tune. In the end, however, his distinguishing vice became 
the ignoble one of gluttony, for which his name will always 
remain a synonym . 1 “His appetite for feasting,” says Taci¬ 
tus, “was shocking and knew no bounds.” His biographer 
tells us that he invited himself to feast with several persons 
at different hours of the day, no banquet costing less than 
four hundred thousand sesterces; and that in order to main¬ 
tain an appetite for these repasts he was in the habit of 
taking emetics. Even during the sacrifices he could not 
control his gluttony, but ate the flesh upon the altar and 
the cakes the priests were cooking. In seven months he 
devoured nine hundred million sesterces . 2 

In justifying the appointment of such a scapegrace to 
the high position of general, Galba declared that none 
were less to be feared than those who only cared for their 
bellies, and “that even his enormous appetite must be sat¬ 
isfied with the plenty of the German province.” But within 
a month after reaching the camp, the soldiers, pleased with 
their new general’s easy and prodigal disposition, upon 
the advice of Valens unanimously saluted him as Em¬ 
peror ; and he actually accepted the distinction and played 
the part before Otho himself was proclaimed. 

The master passion of gluttony did not entirely blind 
the new Emperor to the imperial duty of murder. The 
first prominent victim was Cornelius Dolabella, who, hav¬ 
ing been regarded by many as a candidate for the Empire, 
was by order of Vitellius assassinated in his sleep. Bkesus, 
a man of high birth and incorruptible fidelity, having had 
the temerity to enjoy himself at a feast while Vitellius 

1 ff Vittle-us—and well named too,” soliloquizes Mr. Boffin after one of 
the Wegg readings from the “Decline and Fall off the Rooshan Empire.” 

2 £ 9 , 000 , 000 . 


C 212 ] 


COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

was ailing, was compelled to take poison. As a summary 
settlement of their accounts, many of the Emperor’s cred¬ 
itors were executed. One of the latter having cried out in 
the vain hope of escape, “ I have made you my heir,” Vi- 
tellius at once opened the will, and it appearing that a 
freedman was to share with him, executed his co-legatee 
in advance of the testator. And yet—thanks perhaps to 
that very “master passion which had swallowed all the 
rest”—he was not entirely without sentiments of mercy. 
On the march from Cologne to the Imperial City, during 
which his immense army laid waste the country with fire 
and sword, Vitellius more than once rescued unfortunates 
from the rage of the soldiers, sparing Otho’s brother and 
others who had fought against him; and later in his reign, 
when they were in his power, forebore even to take ven¬ 
geance upon the son and brother of Vespasian, who was 
opposing him. 

Giving over to his consuls, Valens and Cascina, the ad¬ 
ministration of the Empire, Vitellius seems to have deter¬ 
mined that his toils on earth were over, and abandoned 
himself to his gluttony. But it was not for long that his 
security lasted. The magnificent structure of Augustus, 
persistently undermined by his besotted successors, was at 
last tottering to its foundations. Profligacy at Rome, in¬ 
subordination in the army, revolution in the Italian cities, 
open defiance in the provinces—it was evident that noth¬ 
ing but the strong hand of a master who had learned to 
govern himself could stay the impending ruin. Spain, 
Gaul, Britain, the Rhine—all of the Western world was 
in commotion; Italy was in a state of horrible confusion, 
the East, just escaped being involved in the formidable 
insurrection among the Jews, was yet seething, and at 
Alexandria Vespasian had been proclaimed Emperor. 

[ 213 ] 


THE HOUSE OF C/ESAR 

“Hidden in the shady groves of the gardens of Aricia, 
like those slothful brutes which if you give them food lie 
down and sleep,” it was not until Rome itself became in¬ 
volved that Vitellius awoke from his torpor. As a modern 
writer has observed, “he had regarded the Empire as a 
banquet, and desired to finish the feast in tranquillity .” 1 
The fair city of Cremona had been utterly annihilated by 
the advancing Flavians; Rome was threatened with a 
similar fate, and the imperial hog, after watching for a 
time from his table in the palace of Tiberius the sangui¬ 
nary attack upon the Capitol , 2 finally escaped in a litter, 
accompanied by his cook and baker, to a house on the 
Aventine occupied by his wife. He was finally taken by 
the praetorians, and amidst outrageous insults, half naked, 
a rope about his neck and his hands tied behind his back, 
was dragged down the Via Sacra and across the Forum, 
where his predecessor had been slain, a sword being thrust 
beneath his chin to compel him to look up at his tormen¬ 
tors ; to be at last hacked to pieces on the Gemonian stairs, 
from whence his remains were thrown into the Tiber. 

Vespasian: 69 a. d. With the Emperor Vespasian it 
may be said the Augustan age recommenced, continuing 
for rather more than a century, when the death of Marcus 
Aurelius marked the culmination of imperial splendor. 

Vitellius was the last of the patrician Emperors. His 
successor was the son of a Sabine peasant, whose father 
had been a centurion in Pompey’s legions at Pharsalia. 
The Emperor’s father, after serving in the army, was made 

1 Duruy, Hist. Rome. 

2 The Capitoline and Palatine, at the northwest elevation of which latter 
stood the imperial palace, are separated only by the depression which 
constituted the Roman Forum. 



OTHO 








COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

a collector of taxes in Asia; and he displayed such notable 
honesty in office that statues were raised to him bearing 
the inscription “To the honest collector of taxes.” At a 
time when those of his contemporaries who had greatness 
thrust upon them were tracing their descent from the di¬ 
vinities, it is refreshing to read that Vespasian repudiated 
the lofty pedigree prepared for him by his flatterers and 
showed a manifest pride in his humble but honest ancestry. 

Titus Flavius Vespasianus was born in the country of 
the Sabines in the year 10 a. d.— five years before the 
death of the Emperor Augustus. He had therefore seen 
the rise and fall of seven Emperors before his own hopes 
of obtaining the purple were realized. He was sixty years 
old when he came to power, and during the remaining 
ten years of a life that had been one of ceaseless activity, 
he labored earnestly, intelligently, and successfully for the 
welfare of the State. Historians have spoken of him as 
a time-serving flatterer of Caligula, and Suetonius heaps 
upon him the reproach of a sordid and culpable avarice. 
His cowardly flatteries of the third Emperor can be neither 
denied nor condoned; but the other charge of Suetonius 
has been seriously questioned. However this may be, by 
a long life of faithful and brilliant services to the State, 
from the time of Claudius to his death thirty years later, 
Vespasian redeemed his early reputation, and if by only 
setting a good example, accomplished more for the Roman 
State than ever could have been gained by reformatory 
laws alone. Under his awakening touch and firm guidance 
the innate vitality of the mighty creation of Augustus and 
his great predecessor soon put an end to the rapid disor¬ 
ganization which had set in—a disorganization inevitable 
under a constitution where everything depended upon the 
master, and where the latter was a Caligula or a Nero. 

[ 215 ] 


THE HOUSE OF C^SAR 

The Emperor profited by the very excesses of those who 
had brought the State to such an evil pass; and it is with¬ 
out doubt largely from contrast with these others, that 
the early century writers declared Vespasian worthy to be 
compared with the best princes who ever reigned. From 
what can be learned of his work and methods, he seems 
to have apprehended the fundamental principle of all true 
reform,—the supplanting of the old idea with a new and 
better one. Suetonius himself is compelled to render him 
this high testimony,—that it would be difficult to name 
a single person unjustly punished in his reign, unless it 
were done in his absence or without his knowledge. St. 
Augustine says of him that he was a good prince and 
very worthy of being beloved, while the historian Pliny 
declares, “Greatness and majesty produced in him no* 
other effect than to render his power of doing good equal 
to his desire.” 

It was fitting that for this man, who had proved him¬ 
self truly the Emperor required by the times, the recur¬ 
rence of that grim imperial disease which had stricken 
every Caesar since Augustus should be stayed. In the little 
house in Reate where his childhood had been passed, and 
which he had sacredly preserved unchanged, death came 
to him, in his seventieth year. Up to the last moment he 
calmly and courageously occupied himself with the affairs 
of the State. When the final moment approached he jok¬ 
ingly remarked, — referring to his coming apotheosis, — “I 
shall soon be a god!” A little later he cried out, “An 
Emperor ought to die standing,” and, attempting to rise, 
expired in the effort. He had reigned ten years. 

Titus: 79 a. d. The elder Vespasian had married in 
early life Fla via Domitilla, who had formerly been the 
[ 216 ] 







VITELLIUS 















COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

mistress of Statilius Capella, a Roman knight of Sobrata 
in Africa. This wife and their only daughter died before he # 
became Emperor, and Vespasian had thereupon renewed 
his former relations with Caenis, a freedwoman of Antonia; 
which may account for the fact that his two sons, Titus 
and Domitian, were educated in the palace with the 
young Britannicus. The elder boy is alleged to have been 
remarkable for his bodily and mental endowments. Cer¬ 
tain it is that he soon showed himself to be a man of ac¬ 
tion and served the State with distinction under Nero and 
his three immediate successors. Early in the reign of his 
father, Titus had achieved great glory by the final over¬ 
throw of Jerusalem, which succumbed after a two years’ 
siege; and following the triumph which in commemora¬ 
tion of this affair was celebrated jointly by father and 
son, 1 the latter was openly associated with Vespasian in 
the conduct of the Empire. It was a wise act on the part 
of the old Emperor, upon whose death not a voice was 
raised against the transmission of the purple to Titus, 
who thus enjoyed the unique distinction of being the first 
prince who succeeded to the Empire by hereditary right. 

Such an accession must have been a surprise to the Ro¬ 
man world, accustomed to the wildest upheaval upon the 
death of a Ceesar—especially in view of the fact that the 
new Emperor’s brother had made no secret of his expec¬ 
tation to be a partner in the Empire. But it was a strong 
hand which now held the reins, and fortified by rather 
more than common shrewdness, and the experience born 
of his long participation in power, Titus also displayed a 
moral character which could hardly have been expected in 
view of his somewhat wild and dissolute youth. Strange 

1 This triumph was marked by the beautiful “Arch of Titus which spans 
the road from the Forum to the Colosseum. 

[ 217 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

to say, his virtue seems to have been appreciated, the peo¬ 
ple dubbing him “The Delight of the Human Race”; and 
Domitian, realizing the danger of lifting a hand against 
the darling of the people, gave up his plots in despair. The 
Emperor rounded out his brief reign in a blaze of glory 
by completing and opening the wonderful Colosseum, 
dying shortly after of a fever contracted while on a jour¬ 
ney. Upon his death-bed he declared that he had done 
only one thing in his life which was cause for repentance. 1 
History does not disclose what particular crime was bear¬ 
ing upon the Emperor’s conscience—which apparently 
troubled him no more in time of death than in the riot¬ 
ous days spoken of by Suetonius. Titus died at the age of 
forty-one after reigning barely two years. He was twice 
married and left one daughter, Julia. 

Domitian : 81 a. d. The death of Titus had occasioned 
universal mourning. Even the Senate, assembled without 
proclamation, “had heaped upon him such praises, now 
that he was dead, as they never had done whilst he was 
alive and present amongst them.” The character of the 
prince, on the other hand, was only too well known. The 
atrocities of Nero and the disorders and insecurity under 
Otho and Vitellius were too well remembered, especially 
in contrast with the benign reigns of the preceding Fla¬ 
vians, to welcome the accession to power of a young man 
already noted for his cowardice, extravagance, and licen¬ 
tiousness. The last of the Flavian dynasty is said to have 
boasted in the Senate that “he had bestowed the Empire 
on his father and brother, and they had restored it to 

1 One is reminded of a similar remark attributed to Andrew Jackson at 
the time of his death; whose sole cause for regret was said to be that he 
“did not hang Calhoun!” 


[ 218 ] 


% 



VESPASIAN 












COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

him.” Titus had indeed always treated his brother with 
unmerited respect, and had invariably declared Domitian 
to be his successor; which was perhaps one reason why 
Rome accepted its new master apparently as matter of 
course. But it is only upon the theory that the new Em¬ 
peror had arranged the matter in advance with the ever 
corruptible praetorians that we can satisfactorily account 
for the failure of the Senate and people to repudiate the 
degenerate Flavian. 

The comfort and assistance which Vespasian derived 
from his elder son were largely counterbalanced by the 
cares and mortification imposed upon him by the younger. 
The Emperor did not fail to realize the wide difference 
between the two young men. Once at table, when Do¬ 
mitian declined to partake of mushrooms, 1 the father 
dryly remarked that he “would better fear the dagger.” 
The son grew up to be cruel, lazy, vindictive, sensual, and 
superstitious; and the effect of this combination of vices 
in the sovereign head of a semi-barbaric despotism may 
readily be imagined. Upon first succeeding to power, Do¬ 
mitian made professions of justice and clemency—even 
of morality. But his evil instincts could not long be re¬ 
pressed, and during nearly fifteen years his treatment of 
the Roman people was exactly what might have been ex¬ 
pected from a ruler whose favorite occupation in private 
was that of transfixing flies with a pin. His uninterrupted 
career of selfish wickedness was redeemed only by an oc¬ 
casional public-spirited act, such as the erection of build¬ 
ings and other monuments, and the enactment of some 
moderately good laws—the latter intended, of course, for 
every one except the Emperor and his favorites. 

1 The mushroom seems to have been a favorite medium for the adminis¬ 
tration of poison. Claudius was disposed of in this way. 

[ 219 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

After such a life, it is not to be wondered at that the 
old disease broke out again. The Emperor had a wife, 
Domitia Longina, whom, in emulation of his great prede¬ 
cessor, he had taken from her husband. On account of 
some misconduct, real or fancied, Domitia was soon re¬ 
pudiated, and the Emperor then married his niece Julia. 1 
After her death Domitia was received again; but smarting 
under the insult—perhaps fearing that the next blow 
would stretch her beside the murdered Julia—Domitia 
resolved to kill her husband. There was no dearth of in¬ 
struments—half of Rome would have jumped to do her 
bidding upon such a tyrant; the difficulty was to make 
an opportunity. Fearful of assassination, which had more 
than once been foretold him, the Emperor observed every 
possible precaution against surprise. But there are few ab¬ 
solute defences against genuine hatred. In the very excess 
of his precautions the conspirators found their opportunity. 
Upon the pretext of disclosing a plot against his life, one 
Stephanus secured access to the Emperor and while the 
latter was reading the memorial, Stephanus stabbed him 
in the side. The Emperor struggled powerfully with the 
assassin, but others rushed in, overpowered and killed 
him. He was forty-five years old, and had reigned fif¬ 
teen years. With his death a new day broke for devoted 
Rome; and nearly a hundred years were to elapse before, 
in the person of Commodus, the villainies of Tiberius, 
Nero, Otho, and Domitian were to become reincarnate. 

Nerva: 96 a. d. The army had been aroused to a high 
pitch of indignation by the murder of Domitian, who al¬ 
ways had made a point of standing well with the soldiers. 

1 She was the only daughter of Titus, and was practically murdered by 
the Emperor. 


[ 220 ] 


COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

But this time the Senate controlled the occasion. Meeting 
in all haste, the Fathers “in full assembly reviled his mem¬ 
ory in the most bitter terms,” pulled down and destroyed 
all his images, and adopted a decree to obliterate his titles 
and destroy his memory. And they consummated their re¬ 
tributive work by choosing as the successor of Domitian 
one who in age, temperament, character, and parts was the 
very antithesis of his predecessor. Cocceius Nerva was no 
relation to any of the former Emperors, and is said to have 
“had no claim upon the throne but a blameless life.” He 
came from a noble family, a Nerva having been consul in 
the time of the triumvirs, and another in 22 a. d. ; while 
the Senate’s choice had himself been twice consul and had 
received the honors of a triumph. A man of education and 
integrity, he nevertheless seems to have never before sig¬ 
nalized himself by important services to the State, and 
when chosen to become Caesar he was in feeble health be¬ 
yond the ordinary accompaniment of his sixty-five years. 
Domitian had exhausted the treasury, the friends of Nero, 
Otho, and Domitian confronted the new Emperor at every 
turn, while the army was clamoring for revenge upon those 
—the real friends of the State—who were supposed to 
have at least abetted the last imperial murder. The well- 
meaning but weak old man was powerless to grapple with 
and constrain all these adverse factors. He did what little 
he could for the State; but aside from the display of honest 
motives, he actually accomplished but one good thing,— 
the adoption of Trajan as his successor. When the guard 
rose in a tumult and demanded the murderers of Do¬ 
mitian, the Emperor, courageously facing them, begged 
that his friends might be spared, even at the sacrifice of 
his own life. But the implacable soldiers roughly pushed 
the old man aside, and despatched the others in the very 
[ 221 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 


presence of their protector and patron—even compelling 
the latter to publicly justify an act which was so abhor¬ 
rent to his feelings. It is alleged that the shame and dis¬ 
grace of this act was the direct cause of the Emperor’s 
death. But not improbably it may also have brought him 
to realize the imperative need of a strong and martial hand 
to control the lawless elements which had so easily coun¬ 
teracted his own well-meaning efforts in favor of reform. 
At any rate, in the choice of a successor he selected the 
ablest of his generals “for the purpose of restoring disci¬ 
pline and giving to the State a ruler whom no force would 
cause to yield.” Trajan was then waging war upon the 
Suevi; and when news of a great victory came from Pan- 
nonia, Nerva, after making solemn offerings in the Capi¬ 
tol, publicly adopted Trajan as his son, at the same time 
transmitting to him the surname of Germanicus, which the 
Emperor had himself assumed in honor of his general’s 
victory. After bidding Trajan, in a letter, avenge the in¬ 
sults which the Emperor had sustained from the leading 
officers in the guard, Nerva passed quietly away after 
reigning eighteen months. 

Trajan: 98 a. d. In the selection of Trajan as his suc¬ 
cessor, Nerva supplied the State with its first provincial 
governor. M. Ulpius Trajanus was born at Italica on 
the Bastis, a colony in Spain which had been founded 
by Scipio African us during the Second Punic War. His 
father was a soldier who had attained the highest civil 
and military honors—consul, governor, triumphalia orna- 
menta , pro-consul in Asia. Under his father the future 
Emperor made his first military campaigns, and himself 
speedily became noted as a brave and skilful general, 
besides achieving the prastorship and consulship, with the 
[ 222 ] 



TITUS 



































































» 















































































































COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

final appointment of governor of Upper Germany. He 
was immensely popular with the army, which hailed his 
appointment to power with unaffected joy. Bold, large- 
minded, far-sighted, of undoubted integrity, and, strange 
to say, apparently of unquestioned morality, with a united 
army behind him, and with the support in Rome of at 
least the better part of the people, he was able to give 
the Romans perhaps the best civil government they had 
ever known, of which the keynote was his open decla¬ 
ration that, as Emperor, he was the servant not the 
master of the Senate. In the prayer annually addressed 
to the gods that his reign might be prolonged, he caused 
this clause to be added: “so long as he shall deserve it.” 
Blessed with a wife of austere virtues—the Empress Plo- 
tina—the home life of the Emperor in the magnificent 
palace on the Palatine was as free from pomp or show as 
if he were still living in a frontier camp, surrounded only 
by his guard. Apparently the only act of severity which 
attended his succession was his punishment of the authors 
of the sedition which preceded Nerva’s death. Some of the 
guilty ones were degraded, some banished, the rest put 
to death. The lesson was a salutary one, and the Roman 
world realized that henceforth obedience was necessary; 
although it soon became evident that it was “obedience 
to the law, and not to the single will of a cruel or capri¬ 
cious master.” 

But the Emperor was too restless to settle down quietly 
in Rome, where the plaudits of the people, the adulations 
of the Senate, and the panegyrics of his friend Pliny must 
have become insufferably irksome to one of his blunt, 
straightforward, and unaffected habit of mind and life. By 
training a soldier and by temperament a conqueror, he 
could not endure for long the tedium of the Capitol, the 
[ 223 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR, 

Forum, and the Palatine. Out of twenty years of reign¬ 
ing he passed eight or nine away from the Imperial City; 
thereby not only gratifying his own taste for war and 
conquest, but at the same time both adding to his popu¬ 
larity with the soldiers by this evident preference for the 
army, and increasing his favor with the Senate by the 
assurance of his confidence in their direction of affairs 
during his absence. His victorious generals carried the 
Roman arms into many a far-away land. The beautiful 
column which, springing from below the level of the Via 
del Foro Trajano, forms one of the architectural and sculp¬ 
tural wonders of the Eternal City commemorates Trajan’s 
victories over the Dacians. 1 Towards the end of his reign, 
after mastering Babylonia, the Emperor descended the 
Tigris to the borders of the Indian Ocean, where, seeing 
a vessel setting out for India, he exclaimed, “Would that 
I were younger! I would give to Rome for its frontier the 
limits of the Empire of Alexander! ” 

It was on his return from this expedition to the East 
that the Emperor was stricken with the disease from 
which he perished. Some years before a senator named 
Crassus, who had been condemned for a like offence 
against Nerva, but in some way escaped punishment, at¬ 
tempted to assassinate Trajan. The mild decree of ban¬ 
ishment was the only punishment the Emperor would 
consent to for this offence, which was the only one of its 
kind during Trajan’s long reign. It was to the treacherous 
marsh fever of Babylonia that the Emperor finally suc¬ 
cumbed. His robust constitution had begun to give way 
when he reached Antioch, where he accordingly bade 

1 This column, the work of Apollodorus, has served as a model for all 
triumphal columns. Included in its wonderful bas-reliefs are more than 
twenty-five hundred human figures, besides animals and machines. 

[ 224 ] 


COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

farewell to his army, but managed to go on to Selinus, 
in Cilicia, where he died on August 10, 117. His remains 
were taken to Rome and interred beneath the great col¬ 
umn which bears his name. Trajan was in his sixty-fourth 
year and had reigned twenty years. A profound historian 
has declared that with the miracle of a succession of Em¬ 
perors such as he, Rome would have been saved; the pos¬ 
sibilities involved in which reflection may well stagger the 
imagination. 

Hadrian: 117 a. d. While Trajan was lying ill at Seli¬ 
nus he drew up a decree of adoption in favor of Hadrian, 
his nephew by marriage and tried companion in many a 
hard field. Publius iElius Hadrianus was born at Rome, 
January 24, 76. His family, however, resided in Italica, 
in Spain, his mother being a native of Cadiz. His grand¬ 
father, Marcellinus, had been senator, and the young man 
himself rose through all the successive grades of office 
from vigintivir to consul, which latter dignity he attained 
some months before reaching the legal age. 1 His patron 
had bestowed upon him in marriage his niece Sabina, 
and following some successes in the second Dacian war 
the Emperor had sent the young general the diamond 
which he himself had received from Nerva at the time of 
his adoption. There were abundant indications that the 
Emperor had for years considered Hadrian his successor, 
and there appears to be no warrant for the story that the 
papers of adoption were forged by the Empress Plotina— 
whose character for virtue, it would seem, should alone 
have protected her from any such charge. 

Hadrian was at Antioch with the army when the news 

1 The ordinary cursus honorum was vigintivir, legionary tribune, quaestor, 
tribune of the people, praetor, legionary legate, and cohsul. 

[ 225 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

of his uncle’s death was received. His procedure, says a 
modern writer, was very simple: to the soldiers he prom¬ 
ised a double donativum , to the senators he addressed an 
exceedingly modest letter. “The former were no more 
capable of resisting the money than the latter were the 
fair words, backed by seven legions; each received his 
share and felt satisfied!” But the old murderous spirit 
which had dominated the Roman world under the Julian 
dynasty must needs bubble up with the death of Trajan, 
who had inspired a respect and fear which the compara¬ 
tively unknown Hadrian could not at first command. A 
plot was formed to kill the Emperor, and as the ring¬ 
leaders were men of consequence,—all four of them ex¬ 
consuls,—it would undoubtedly have borne fruit but for 
a chance discovery during the absence of Hadrian, whose 
first information in regard to the matter was that the 
Senate had promptly executed the conspirators. Upon his 
accession to power Hadrian immediately gave up the pro¬ 
fession of arms and devoted himself entirely to admin¬ 
istrative work. Emulating the simple and praiseworthy 
manner of living which had endeared his great predecessor 
to the Roman world, and ruling for the most part justly 
and well, he speedily gained the confidence and esteem of 
both Senate and people and is fairly entitled to be called 
a great monarch. One writer terms him “the best in the 
imperial series”; while another declares that “when the 
glory of rulers is measured by the happiness which they 
have given to their subjects, Hadrian will stand forth the 
first of the Roman Emperors.” 

In his domestic relations the Emperor was unfortunate. 
There seems to have been no sympathy between husband 
and wife, and the Emperor knew no peace until Sabina 
died; which fact was perhaps the reason for a report that 
[ 226 ] 






DOMITIAN AND LONGINA 
















































































































COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

her death was caused by ill treatment. Having no chil¬ 
dren, Hadrian chose for companion a beautiful boy named 
Antinous. But a crazy seer having declared that the Em¬ 
peror’s life would be prolonged if some one would die for 
him, Antinous committed suicide. Shortly after this loss, 
realizing that he was growing old, the Emperor secured 
the consent of the Senate to his adoption of a successor, 
and his choice fell upon Lucius Commodus Verus, who, 
strangely enough, was son-in-law to Caius Nigrinus, who 
was one of those put to death by the Senate for conspir¬ 
ing against the Emperor. Verus seems to have been chosen 
on account of his pleasing personality, for although appar¬ 
ently gifted with eloquence and talents, he was without 
fixed character and led the elegant life of the rich patri¬ 
cians. The assent of the people and of the soldiers was se¬ 
cured by a large gift of money; but the choice of Verus 
never was popular and brought no comfort to the old Em¬ 
peror. Fortunately for his reputation, Verus did not long 
outlive his honor, and once more Hadrian found himself 
alone in the world. These family sorrows .now began to af¬ 
fect both his health and to some extent his character. Dur¬ 
ing the later years of his reign there seem to have been 
numerous executions for alleged conspiracy, although it 
is by no means certain that for these the Emperor was 
directly responsible. And certain it is that he retained 
enough character and wisdom to make another public 
adoption which gave to Rome two of her best and wisest 
rulers. Assembling the most important of the senators at 
the palace, he declared that he had chosen as his successor 
Aurelius Antoninus; and as the latter had no son living 
and was himself advanced in years, Hadrian stretched his 
authority to include in the adoption, as successors to An¬ 
toninus, Lucius Aurelius Verus (son of that Verus who 
[ 227 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

had first been designated as Hadrian’s successor) and Mar¬ 
cus Annius Verus, a youth whose great capacities had al¬ 
ready impressed the Emperor and who afterwards became 
the celebrated Marcus Aurelius. 

This adoption occurred the twenty-fifth of February, 
and on the tenth of March following Hadrian died. His 
last days were clouded with pain and suffering, so that 
towards the end he prayed for death and actually begged 
a freedman to strike him with a sword—having marked 
the place over his heart with a piece of chalk. The man’s 
courage failed, however, and he ran away, leaving the 
wretched old Emperor to fight it out alone; which he 
finally did with some degree of calmness and even of mel¬ 
ancholy wit, if we may accept as authentic some lines of 
poetry “to his fluttering soul” which he left behind. 1 He 
was sixty-two at the time of his death, and had reigned 
over twenty years. His ashes were entombed in the mighty 
mausoleum which bears his name—now, however, com¬ 
monly spoken of as the Castle of St. Angelo. 


Titus Antoninus : 138 a. d. The new Emperor had 
been neither a relative nor an intimate friend of Hadrian, 
whose second choice of a successor seems to have been 
based alone upon the latter’s manifest qualifications for 
the office, at least as far as character and virtues were 
concerned. Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius An¬ 


toninus, as he had been named before his adoption, 2 was 


1 The lines are as follows: 

(C Animula, vagula, blandula , 
Hospes, comesque, corporis, 
Quae nunc abibis in loca ,— 
Pallidula, rigida, nudula, 
Nec, ut soles dabis jocos” ; 


which Dean Merivale has translated: 
“ Soul of mine, pretty one, flitting one , 
Guest and partner of my day, 

Whither wilt thou hie away, 

Pallid one, rigid one, naked one ,— 
Never to play again, never to play?” — 

2 After his accession he was called Titus iEtius Hadrianus Antonius Pius 
Augustus, commonly shortened to Antonius Pius, or “the Dutiful.” 

[ 228 ] 


COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

born near Lanuvium on the nineteenth of September, 86. 
His ancestors came originally from Nimes, upon which 
city the Emperor Tiberius had conferred the jus Latii , 
whereby any inhabitant who had held municipal office be¬ 
came clothed with Roman citizenship. Both there and at 
Rome the Antonines had enjoyed the highest civil offices, 
including at least five consulships. The family possessed an 
enviable record for character, and the virtues of the new 
Emperor had come to him by direct inheritance from both 
his father and grandfather, who were men of purest lives. 
He had himself filled the offices of consul, pro-consul (in 
Asia), judex of one of the Italian provinces, and member 
of the imperial consistory; all of which indicates plainly 
that before adoption he had enjoyed the imperial favor. 

It is a mooted question whether or not the Emperor’s 
domestic relations were happy. His wife, the beautiful 
Faustina, has been accorded an extremely bad reputation; 
but it is not improbable that the attacks upon her char¬ 
acter were in the main slanderous. Certain it is that the 
Emperor professed for her both love and esteem, and re¬ 
fused to marry again after her death, which occurred shortly 
after his accession. Three of their four children had pre¬ 
viously died; and of Faustina the younger, who became 
the wife of Marcus Aurelius, little that is not disparaging 
has come down to us. 

Antoninus was fifty years of age when he came to the 
throne, and the twenty odd years of his reign were a time 
of peace, plenty, and protection for the Romans. Some 
wars, it is true, were necessarily waged in defence of his 
Empire; but personally he undertook no expedition and 
during nearly a quarter of a century he did not leave 
Rome or its environs, except for a rapid tour in Asia. 
It is a grave question whether the very mildness of his 
[ 229 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 
government was not the primal cause of his successor’s 
greatest misfortunes. Unduly fond of his ease and inclined 
towards too much complacency with the Senate, the ad¬ 
ministration of Antoninus was lacking in the discipline and 
rigidity with which Trajan and Hadrian had made possible 
their successor’s own peaceful reign. But for all, Rome— 
that is to say, mankind—owed him a genuine debt of 
gratitude, and posterity has accorded him so unique a 
place among the best rulers of his time that his name has 
become a veritable proverb for goodness. 

In his seventy-fourth year, after a life theretofore singu¬ 
larly free from any sort of infirmity, his physical strength 
began to decrease, although without attendant bodily dis¬ 
order; and in March, 161, after the barest shadow of an ill¬ 
ness, he calmly passed away. His last words—in reply to 
the tribune of the guards, who inquired for the password— 
were “Patience and Resignation”; which may be accepted as 
an unaffected declaration of the principle which had guided 
him in every dark hour. He had reigned twenty-three years. 

Marcus Aurelius: 161 a. d. The successor of Anto¬ 
ninus was of a family which came originally from Spain, 
although he himself was born at Rome, on April 26, 121. 
His ancestry was patrician, his grandfather having been 
twice consul, and prefect of the city. His mother, Lucilla, 
was a direct descendant from Domitius Afer, the favorite 
historian of the Emperor Tiberius. His name was Marcus 
Annius Verus; after his adoption he was called Allius 
Aurelius Verus Cassar, and after his succession Marcus 
Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. From early boyhood his 
life had been austere, the philosopher’s cloak having been 
assumed at the age of twelve, from which time he never 
failed to practise the severest stoical simplicity; sleeping 
[ 230 ] 


/ 



NERVA 








COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

on the bare ground, eating little, exercising and working 
without intermission, and indulging in no pleasures—or 
rather invariably finding his pleasure in an unceasing de¬ 
votion to duty, the pursuit of knowledge, and the attain¬ 
ment of a perfect self-mastery. 

Although Antoninus had named Marcus Aurelius alone 
as his successor, the latter felt called upon to associate 
with himself in the imperial power Lucius Aurelius Verus, 
who, it will be remembered, had been adopted with Aure¬ 
lius as one of the heirs-apparent of Antoninus at the time 
the latter was formally chosen to succeed Hadrian. Verus, 
however, although still further dignified by his marriage 
with Lucilla, the Emperor’s daughter, seems to have had 
the good sense to content himself with the position of a 
lieutenant. This was fortunate both for the reputation of 
Aurelius and the welfare of the people; for nothing but 
the Emperor’s own gravity of life could apparently have 
made amends for the wild and riotous conduct of the son- 
in-law, who would soon have destroyed the honor of the 
imperial house if he had openly occupied the position ac¬ 
corded by his too generous brother. Supported by a select 
coterie of wild spirits, Verus displayed all the personal 
misconduct with which Rome had been disgraced by Nero, 
with the important exception that his extravagance and 
debauchery were free from cruelty. Fortunately, however, 
the Emperor had an early opportunity and the good sense 
to despatch his associate to the East, where the fortunes of 
the Empire were seriously threatened by a Parthian inva¬ 
sion ; and in his conduct of the campaign Verus certainly 
bore himself both modestly and with credit. He performed 
a distinct service to the State in discovering the conspiracy 
of Crassus, who was plotting to overthrow Aurelius and 
seize the Empire. Four years later, after the inglorious 
[ 231 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

campaign in Illyria, Verus died of apoplexy at Altinum 
and relieved Aurelius from further sorrow and shame. Un- 
happy in his adoptive brother, the Emperor was even 
more unfortunate in his direct family relations. His wife, 
Faustina (daughter of the preceding Emperor), must have 
been indeed an infamous woman, as the Senate begged the 
Emperor to punish or at least divorce her . 1 Seven children 
had been born to the imperial pair, of whom two boys died 
in infancy, the eldest daughter disgraced herself as the un¬ 
faithful wife of Pompeianus , 2 while Commodus, the only 
other son, at an early age disclosed the peculiarly evil in¬ 
stincts which in later years, and under the robust stimulus 
of arbitrary power, developed into a character more de¬ 
graded even than that of Nero, if such a thing were possible. 

Aurelius certainly needed all of his stoicism to sustain 
the burdens and calamities which finally pressed upon 
him. The splendor and magnificence of the Empire had 
reached its apogee. Already the signs of decay and disin¬ 
tegration were manifest. The reign of the “Philosopher,” 
begun in tranquillity, had gradually developed into a 
period of recurring storms. Inundations, pestilence, fam¬ 
ine, war, grim persecution 3 —in its final effect more blast¬ 
ing even than war,—all of these calamities in turn bore 

1 Among the scandalous stories about Faustina were the reports that 
Commodus was really the son of a gladiator, and that Verus, who had 
married her daughter, Lucilla, was one of her lovers, Lucilla being her¬ 
self charged with a similar offence in after years. 

2 Pompeianus was her second husband. 

3 The persecutions of the Christians which occurred during the reign of 
Marcus Aurelius have left the one dark stain upon an otherwise singu¬ 
larly pure name. In refusing “to swear by the gods,” — that is, in refus¬ 
ing to obey certain laws of the State,—the victims were deserving of 
their punishment, according to the Emperor, who when appealed to 
accordingly declared that the law must take its course. 

[ 232 ] 


/ 





TRAJAN 





























































































































































































































































































































































































COMPLETION OF SPLENDOR 

down upon the just and gentle-minded Emperor, who, 
unsupported even by the love and consideration of a vir¬ 
tuous wife or son, became sad and mournful and rarely 
was seen to smile. It is impossible to withhold profound- 
est pity for the misfortunes which towards the end en¬ 
gulfed a man whose life from very boyhood had been so 
loyally cast upon lines of the highest ideals, essentially 
pagan though such ideals may be considered. But on the 
other hand, it is because of the very clearness of his per¬ 
ception and rigidity of his practice in moral affairs that 
we also find it difficult to avoid reproaching him for nam¬ 
ing as his successor in an office where, as he must have 
known, the character of the occupant counted for so 
much, the weak, licentious, and savage youth whose in¬ 
nate wickedness had already become manifest. For it is 
to be remembered that the principle of royal heredity, 
although of course always dear to a father’s heart, as it 
seems to be naturally acceptable to the governed, was 
by no means that which had theretofore obtained in the 
Empire. On the contrary, out of sixteen Emperors there 
had been only two thus far who were the natural heirs 
of their predecessor . 1 For the rest, the custom of adop¬ 
tion (which, through the incident of formal ratification 
by the Senate and the army , 2 has been well pointed out 3 
to have been a sort of compromise between the principles 
of heredity and popular election) had controlled in the 
bestowal of the purple, the army or Senate stepping in 
where, for any reason, the privilege had not been exercised 

1 These were Titus and Domitian. 

2 Confirmation by the Senate was considered as the assent of the nobil¬ 
ity; that of the soldiers was accepted as a ratification by the people, of 
whom the army was considered more representative than was the popu¬ 
lace of the city. 

3 Duruy. 


[ 233 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

by the imperial incumbent. In fact, adoption, which had 
from time immemorial been the law of the Roman family, 
had practically existed as state law since the first Caesar 
prepared the way for empire, by naming Augustus as heir 
both to his property and power . 1 

Julian, in the “Caesars,” openly reproaches the Emperor 
for not having set Commodus aside, under cover of this 
ancient institution, in favor of some well-tried statesman 
who might have saved the Empire. But stoic as he was, 
such a sacrifice seems not to have occurred to the author 
of the “Meditations”; and after impressing upon the Sen¬ 
ate his anxiety that Commodus should be guided aright 
and rule justly, the philosopher Emperor died, at what is 
now Vienna, in Austria, having lived fifty-nine years, and 
leaving a legacy to the Empire which forever sealed its fate. 

The Emperor Marcus Aurelius has been called the moral 
hero of pagan antiquity. His reign of nineteen years, al¬ 
though unmarked by new institutions, great accomplish¬ 
ments in war, literature or in the arts, or even an advan¬ 
tageous peace, was so ennobled by his display of exalted 
qualities that it must be considered one of the most mem¬ 
orable in history. And so in the language of a modern 
philosopher, when in the Piazza del Campidoglio we con¬ 
template his equestrian statue, that magnificent creation 
in bronze of an unknown artist, we “feel it fitting that 
the figure of the Emperor who was, by his lofty morality, 
the purest expression of imperial power, should be the 
one to remain alone untouched and standing above the 
ruins of the City of the Caesars.” 

1 Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius each in turn disinherited his natural 
heirs in the adoption of a successor; Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespa¬ 
sian were chosen by the army, Nerva was selected by the Senate, and 
the Antonines chosen by adoption. 

[ 234 ] 


CHAPTER II 
DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 
From Commodus to Gallienus: 180-268 A. D. 
OMMODUS: 180 a. d. Marcus Lucius iElius Commo- 



V_>4 dus Antoninus was the first Roman Emperor “born 
in the purple”—that is to say, born during his father’s 
reign (porphyrogenitus ). By one of those strange coinci¬ 
dences which occasionally arrest attention even among 
the unimpressionable, the birthday of Caligula and Com¬ 
modus fell on the same day of the year. 1 As an instance 
of his early perversity, his biographer declares that when 
only twelve years of age, one day finding his bath insuffi¬ 
ciently heated, he ordered that the slave in charge should 
be thrown into the furnace. It is of course an interesting 
question how far character, which is received from nature 
and is the very substance of the soul, may be modified or 
at least constrained by teaching and opinions, which arise 
from circumstance and are mental operations only. But 
in the present instance it at least occasions no surprise 
that all the anxious care bestowed by a father upon such 
a son proved fruitless. At nineteen years of age he suc¬ 
ceeded to absolute power, and by the end of three years 
the people began to wonder if their malign young ruler, 
who, in the words of Lampridius, had begun to show him¬ 
self “more cruel than Domitian, more vile than Nero,” 
could indeed be the son of the pure and upright philoso¬ 
pher in whose heart stoicism had become a law of love. 

1 Caligula was born on the day before the Calends of September, in the 
year 12 a. d. ; Commodus exactly one hundred and forty-nine years later, 
namely, August 31, l6l a. d. 


[ 235 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Commodus, who was with the army at the time of the 
Emperor’s death, was urged by his father’s generals to 
stay and press the advantages which had been obtained. 
Lured by the seductions of the capital, however, he 
bought an ignoble peace with the barbarians, and leav¬ 
ing Niger, Pertinax, Albinus, and Severus (each of whom 
afterwards became Emperor) to guard the frontiers, Com¬ 
modus hurried to Rome and at once plunged into that 
sea of vice from which he never emerged. Of an inferior 
intellect, his low instincts prompted him to pleasures 
either vulgar or hideous; and being both vicious and 
timid, it needed only a spark to develop that unreason¬ 
ing cruelty which is the inevitable outcome of such a 
nature when frightened or opposed. It was his sister 
Lucilla 1 who roused the tiger within him. Jealous of the 
Emperor’s wife, 2 who of course had the precedence, Lu¬ 
cilla formed a plot to kill Commodus and bestow the 
purple upon her friend Quadratus, a rich young senator, 
through whom she would thus obtain a larger measure of 
power. To her son-in-law, who was an intimate friend 
of the Emperor, was intrusted the task of striking the 
blow; and one evening as Commodus was passing through 
a dark passage leading to the amphitheatre, the assassin 
fell upon him with a dagger, crying “The Senate sends 
thee this!” Fortunately for Commodus, his guards were at 
hand, the assassin was knocked down and killed, Caesar 
escaping without a scratch, although so overcome with 
fright that he could scarcely speak. When he recovered 
his senses he was wild with fury; Lucilla, Quadratus, and 
all others concerned in the plot were put to death at 
once, and upon the strength of the words used by the 

1 The widow of his father s adoptive brother Verus. Ante, page 231. 

2 The Empress Crispina. 


[ 236 ] 


/ 



HADRIAN 






DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

assassin many noble senators, friends of Aurelius, also 
perished. From that day the cruelty of Commodus knew 
no bounds. He seemed possessed with a veritable thirst 
for blood. The list of his victims is so long that we can 
well believe Dion’s statement, that of all who enjoyed dis¬ 
tinction in the State during the reign of his father three 
only under Commodus escaped with their lives. Once more 
the informers, who had flourished under Tiberius, Caligula, 
and Nero, were called into being. Indiscriminate accusa¬ 
tions of all sorts of crimes were lodged by these scoundrels 
against the wealthier nobles, condemnation following as 
matter of course; whereupon their estates were seized by 
the Emperor, who shared with the informers . 1 

But not content with executions of this sort, in which 
he could not personally participate, this brutalized off¬ 
spring of the virtuous Antonines actually descended into 
the arena, where, surrounded and protected by Moorish 
and Parthian archers, and thus absolutely without danger 
to himself, he fought over seven hundred combats and 
fairly glutted himself in blood. “Never,” says Lampridius, 
“did he appear in public without being stained with blood. 
When he had mortally wounded a gladiator, he would 
plunge his hand into the wound and then wipe the blood 
off on his hair.” And Dion tells with shocking particularity 
how he collected a number of maimed and infirm persons, 
had them disguised as fabulous monsters and then turned 
into the streets of Rome, where this Divine Augustus fell 
upon them with clubs and'beat them to death, while the 
degraded populace hailed him as Amazonius Victor! 

As long as Commodus scattered gold among them and 
maintained the amphitheatres with such extravagance, and 
as long as it was only the nobles who were terrorized, mur- 

1 Many noble women even suffered in the same way. 

[ 237 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

dered, and robbed, the populace had nothing but applause 
for their flower-crowned darling. It was another thing 
when they themselves were oppressed, and when the ex¬ 
actions of the favorites, Perennis and Oleander, became 
too grinding they rose in wrath and did some murdering 
on their own account. While their frightened master seems 
to have taken the hint and left the populace alone after 
they had killed his two friends, his conduct towards the 
rest of the State was if anything worse than ever; and it 
soon became evident that expiation could not be much 
longer delayed. The Empress Crispina, having been ban¬ 
ished to Capri under a charge of adultery, was finally put 
to death; after which Commodus formed a passionate at¬ 
tachment for a woman named Marcia, the widow of one 
of the Emperor’s victims . 1 Marcia is said to have been 
a Christian ; 2 and proof positive of the assertion may be 
found in the fact that she it was who finally relieved the 
Roman world of its greatest monster. On the eve of the 
Saturnalia , 3 while Commodus was making ready to pass 
the night in a school of gladiators as final preparation 
for the bloody deeds of the day to come, a child playing 
about the palace discovered some tablets upon which the 

1 The name of concubine seems to have had no disgrace attached to it. 
A woman occasionally inscribed upon her husband’s tomb Concubina et 
haeres. Vespasian, Antoninus, Aurelius, Constantius the Pale, and Con¬ 
stantine the Great, all had maintained concubinage. It was really a kind 
of marriage, not suppressed until the time of Leo VI, 928 a. d. 

2 The one good thing which may be attributed to Commodus—the free¬ 
dom from persecution enjoyed by the Christians under his reign—is 
doubtless in no small degree attributable to the influence of Marcia. But 
it must be admitted that even before she came upon the scene, when the 
Emperor first came to the throne (his ferocious cruelty not having been 
yet aroused), he released from prison those Christians who had been in 
carcerated by his father. 

3 The great festival of Saturn, celebrated December seventeenth. 

[ 238 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

Emperor had written the names of the victims who should 
next perish. Among them were the chamberlain of the 
palace, the prefect of the guards, and Marcia herself. It 
was the last straw, and the hastily formed plan for self- 
preservation was instantly carried out. Calling for wine, 
according to his custom on leaving the bath, Commodus re¬ 
ceived the fatal cup from Marcia herself, and the effect not 
proving instantaneous, Lsetus and the others—including 
the Emperors own physician—promptly choked him to 
death. So perished at last this Roman abomination in the 
purple robe, in the thirty-second year of his age 1 and 
the thirteenth of his tyranny. Writers who have preserved 
the history of his reign have supplied us with a monoto¬ 
nous account of the most shocking atrocities, without the 
relation of one good measure of government or one single 
act which shows care for the public interest. And of the 
five monsters whose hideous crimes render the perpetra¬ 
tors unique in history—Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Cara- 
calla, and himself—Commodus may fairly be accounted 
the worst, both for what he did and what he failed to do. 

Pertinax—Didius Julianus: 193 a. d. Following the 
death of Commodus, six claimants for the imperial office 
sprang up in different parts of the Empire, and of the 
five who were actually proclaimed only one died a natural 
death. 2 

1 Nero died at the same age; Caracalla was two and Caligula three years 
younger, while Domitian, the other member of this precious quintette, 
was forty-five. Caligula reigned four years, Nero fifteen, Domitian fifteen, 
Commodus eleven, Caracalla six. 

2 Septimius Severus. From the death of Marcus Aurelius to the time of 
the Emperor Diocletian, a period of about one hundred years, out of fifty- 
one Emperors, with the exception of Claudius II, who died of the plague, 
Septimius Severus is the only one who died from natural causes. 

[ 239 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

The first to be invested was Pertinax, who was chosen 
by the guard upon the motion of its prefect, Lastus, who 
had participated in the murder of Commodus. The son of 
a charcoal dealer in Liguria, the new Emperor had risen 
in turn through all the important public offices in both 
the army and State, including command of the Danubian 
army and the administration of four consular provinces. 
At the time of his selection he was prefect of the city, 
and although now sixty-six years of age, the stern old gen¬ 
eral, who seems to have been noted alike for his honesty, 
simplicity, and severity in discipline, at first gave promise 
of accomplishing just what Rome needed, after the dis¬ 
organizing reign of the besotted Commodus. But the 
matter had gone too far; the antidote had been too long 
delayed. Three days after his investiture the guards rose, 
and Pertinax was able to quiet them only by an immense 
donativum, which he secured by a forced sale of the luxu¬ 
rious belongings of his predecessor. Shortly after, it was 
discovered that Leetus was himself forming a plot against 
the Emperor, who, however, declined to approve the Sen¬ 
ate’s recommendation that Lastus should be put to death, 
Pertinax declaring that during his reign no Roman should 
be executed. 

Such clemency was ill advised. The people were satis¬ 
fied with their new Emperor, who ruled justly and well. 
But the army, accustomed to the license and extravagance 
of a Commodus, were ill pleased with the economy and un¬ 
bending discipline which the upright old soldier imposed 
upon Rome. Again the guard rose 1 —this time determined 
to overthrow the government. The friends of the Emperor 

1 It is alleged that Laetus was responsible for the uprising, he having 
put certain praetorians to death, throwing upon the Emperor the odium 
of the execution. 


[ 240 ] 



0 *\ 


JULIA 


SABINA 


WIFE 


OF 


HADRIAN 















DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

urged him to fly, but the dauntless old man betook him¬ 
self instead to the palace gates to meet the rioters, of 
whom there were three hundred. At sight of their im¬ 
perial master, some indeed sheathed their swords; but a 
Tongrian soldier rushed in and wounded the Emperor, 
whereupon the whole band fell upon him and hacked him 
to pieces. He had reigned eighty-seven days. 

At the first news of the insurrection, Pertinax had sent 
his father-in-law, Sulpicianus, to treat with the praetorians, 
into whose midst, while the envoy was still present, soon 
came the rebels bearing the gray head of their Emperor 
impaled upon a spear. “The King is dead! Long live the 
King!”—and Sulpicianus, affecting no useless regrets for 
his daughter’s husband, immediately began bargaining 
with the guards for the blood-stained purple of his son-in- 
law. Realizing that this was their opportunity, the prae¬ 
torians now added to Roman disgrace its crowning shame 
in a veritable sale at auction of the Empire. A senator 
named Didius Julianus, who had achieved some promi¬ 
nence in the State, inspired by his ambitious wife, entered 
the list against Sulpicianus. The latter was in the prae¬ 
torian camp; Julianus mounted the wall, and the bidding 
proceeded. Soldiers ran back and forth saying to the one, 
“He offers four thousand drachmae; how much will you 
give?” and to the other, “He will give twenty thousand 
sesterces; will you go higher?” Julianus finally captured 
the prize by offering to give each soldier the equivalent of 
$1150, at the same time promising to rehabilitate the 
memory of Commodus. The soldiers brought a ladder; 
Julianus descended from the wall, and, having received the 
oath and the imperial insignia from the guards, was con¬ 
ducted by the latter to the palace, where, after sneering 
at the simplicity of the repast which had been prepared 
[ 241 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

for Pertinax, he ordered another and then went calmly 
to casting dice within sight of the spot where lay the 
uncared-for body of the dead Emperor. 

When the news of all that was going on at Rome came 
to the armies, there was an outburst of rage against the 
Senate. Three famous generals were in the field,—Clodius 
Albinus, who commanded in Britain, Pescennius Niger in 
Syria, and Septimius Severus in Upper Pannonia. 1 The 
latter was by far the more vigorous in action, and within 
a short time, having skilfully secured the neutrality of 
Albinus and made himself practically master of half the 
military strength of the Empire, he marched rapidly on 
Rome. The wretched Julianus declared Severus a public 
enemy and made some feeble show of resistance. In the 
vain hope of ensuring the support of the praetorians, he 
put to death Lsetus, Marcia, and the other murderers of 
Commodus; he despatched assassins to do away with 
Severus, and sent other emissaries to detach and embroil 
his troops. But his adversary was utterly resistless. Pro¬ 
claimed at Vienna on April 13, he was at the gates of 
Rome with an immense army in less than seven weeks. 
Although the way was open to him, Severus shrewdly 
avoided the spilling of blood, by sending a message to the 
guard that he sought only the murderers of Pertinax. Im¬ 
mediate compliance on the part of the praetorians was fol¬ 
lowed by a meeting of the Senate, which decreed the death 
of Julianus, divine honor to Pertinax, and imperial power 
to Severus. The miserable shadow of an Emperor was 
found cowering in his bed and died saying “ What wrong 
have I committed?”—a question that might have been 
answered by the famous remark of Chateaubriand, that 
ambition without ability is a crime. Julianus was sixty 

1 The Danubian provinces. 


[ 242 ] 



PIUS 

















































































































































































































V 








































































































































































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 


years old at the time of his death and had posed as Em¬ 
peror sixty-six days. 

Pescennius Niger—Clodius Albinus: 193-197 a. d. 
Although from the death of Julianus, Severus is to be 
considered as the actual Emperor, it was necessary to dis¬ 
pose of the rival pretensions of Niger and Albinus, each 
of whom had been proclaimed by his respective legions, 
before Septimius might deem himself the undisputed mas¬ 
ter of the Roman world. Of the three competitors who 
started with him in the race, one had been quickly over¬ 
thrown, and with characteristic determination and energy 
Severus set himself to the remainder of his task; which 
in the end he accomplished so well as to provoke the 
historian Herodian to say: “That one man should have 
been able to overthrow three competitors already in pos¬ 
session of power; that he should have destroyed one of 
these in his palace in Rome, the second in the remote 
East, the third in the remote West,—this is a success al¬ 
most unparalleled in history.” All of which indeed stamps 
the Emperor as a man of action and power, but at the 
same time plainly indicates the inexorable sternness which 
was to characterize his reign. 

Pescennius Niger (the Black) was a soldier of fortune. 
The son of a curator at Aquinum, he began his career as 
a centurion and worked his way up through all the mili¬ 
tary grades. The death of Pertinax found Niger in com¬ 
mand of nine legions and numerous auxiliaries in Syria, 
and Roman Asia at once proclaimed him Emperor. Niger 
seems to have been a man of stern virtues, affable in his 
manners and extremely popular with his army, albeit a 
rigid disciplinarian. He had been highly esteemed by Mar¬ 
cus Aurelius; while Severus not only considered him a 
[ 243 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

most formidable adversary, but during an illness in the 
early part of the war actually contemplated making Niger 
his successor. 

The two Emperors had been proclaimed about the same 
time, in April. On the second of June, Rome was in pos¬ 
session of Severus. He, however, tarried in the Imperial 
City barely long enough to remove somewhat of the sena¬ 
torial distrust and to gain over the populace by gifts and 
feastings; and Julianus had been dead only thirty days 
when his conqueror again set out upon an “imperial hunt.” 
Crossing the Hellespont, the troops of Severus engaged 
the forces of his adversary at Cyzicus, Nicaea, 1 and Issus, 
in all three actions the Asiatic legions being defeated, with 
great slaughter at the last. Niger fled to Antioch, hoping 
to find an asylum among the Parthians, but was overtaken 
and beheaded. 2 Three years later, after the final overthrow 
of Albinus, Niger’s wife, children, and six of his near rela¬ 
tives were also put to death by the conqueror. 

If Albinus had followed Severus to Rome, in the spring 
of 193, the subsequent history of the Empire would 
doubtless have taken a widely different turn. From the 
outset the Senate cherished a strong distrust of Severus, 
and after the death of Niger all the hopes of the opposi¬ 
tion were centred in Albinus. So that if the latter had 
been at the seat of power while Septimius was warring 
with Niger in the East, the redoubtable Severus at least 
would not have had things so much his own way. But the 
Emperor was not only forceful and energetic—he pos¬ 
sessed no small degree of shrewdness. And before start¬ 
ing in pursuit of Niger he had sent messages to Albinus, 

1 Five hundred years before Alexander made himself master of Asia 
Minor by his victory over the Greeks at Nicaea. 

2 194 A. D. 


[ 244 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

declaring that he had adopted Clodius as his son, had 
granted him the title of Caesar, and had designated him 
to share with himself the consulship of the next year. 
Whether deceived by the fair promises of Severus, or 
indifferent to the charms of imperial power, or merely 
awaiting the time when he should have won over suffi¬ 
cient military support, certain it is that for nearly three 
years Albinus stopped quietly in the West, turning a deaf 
ear to the entreaties of those who were urging him to set 
up his standard. 1 It was not until the summer of 196 
that an open rupture occurred, and it is uncertain whether 
it was precipitated by Albinus or Severus himself. The 
latter was returning to Rome through the valley of the 
Danube when he learned that Albinus had assumed the 
title of Augustus and was preparing to march into Gaul. 
Severus acted with usual promptitude. Albinus was de¬ 
clared both by the army and the Senate a public enemy, 
the Emperor’s son Caracalla similarly proclaimed Caesar, 
and Severus, putting himself at the head of his entire 
forces, threw himself into Gaul prepared for the supreme 
effort of his life. 

If we may believe the historian of the time, three hun¬ 
dred thousand men were soon confronting each other on 
the banks of the Saone, between Lyons and Trevoux— 
prepared to tear each other in pieces over the question 
which of two brave men should be called the ruler of the 
world. Both Albinus and Severus commanded in person, 
for each knew that all of his fortune was at stake and it 
was conquer or perish. The armies seem to have been 
equally matched, the battle was bloody, and the issue long 
in doubt. A cavalry charge by Lsetus decided the victory 
in favor of Severus, and Albinus, after an unsuccessful 

1 Dion Cassius, who was himself a member of the Senate. 

[ 245 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

attempt at suicide, fell into the hands of the victorious 
Romans, who carried him, still living, into the presence of 
the Emperor, by whose orders he was at once beheaded . 1 

Little is to be found in regard to the family and early 
life of Albinus. He is, however, known to have been of 
pure African descent and his birth is said to have been 
illustrious. He seems to have had command in Germany 
as well as in Britain, and must have been a man of stamp 
to have rallied so large and determined a force in support 
of his claims. His wife and two sons were put to death by 
the Emperor’s orders, but the entire family could not have 
been involved in his ruin, as one C. Albinus was prefect 
of Rome under Valerian. 

Septimius Severus: 193-211 a. d. Like the last of 
his competitors, Severus was of African descent, having 
been born at Leptis 2 of a family which had refused to 
abandon its native province, even under the flattery of 
high civic honors bestowed by the Roman State. Seve¬ 
rus himself, although liberally educated in Greek and 
Latin literature, never forgot his native tongue; and one 
of his earliest public acts was the erection of a statue of 
Hannibal, whose language he spoke and of whom he was 
vastly proud. 

When about fourteen years old he was taken to Rome 
and there completed his education, which included a course 
of law under the eminent jurisconsult Scaevola, the cele¬ 
brated Papinian being one of his fellow-students and 
thereafter a lifelong friend. At the age of twenty-seven 
he entered the Senate, and in time passed through all the 
civil grades. From this branch of the public service he 
turned to the army; upon the death of Aurelius we find 
1 February 19 , 187. 2 April 11, 146. 

[ 246 ] 









FAUSTINA WIFE OF PIUS ANTONINUS 






































































































































































































































































































































































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

him one of the chief commanders against the barbarians, 
in 182 he had the Scythian legion in Syria, and in the 
following year he was at the head of the Danubian army, 
by which he was proclaimed upon the death of Pertinax. 1 

The foundation lines of his character were severity, a 
love of order, and unbounded energy; and Fortune be¬ 
ing kind to him—as she always is to men who have the 
determination and ability to work out their own high 
aims—Severus was able to at least stay for a few years 
that degeneration of the Empire which, set in motion by 
Commodus, was to be so accelerated by the Emperor’s 
own son. 

The severity with which the name of Septimius has 
been associated by posterity was justified by the Emperor 
in his autobiography, upon the ground that it is better to 
crush by a few heavy blows than to strike feebly and 
often. In view of the times and the manners of the Roman 
world of his day, and judging by events, the Emperor’s 
principle, at least from his own point of view, was not un¬ 
sound. Thus when he made his first entry into Rome, the 
three hundred murderers of Pertinax were executed to a 
man; while the rest of the guard, invited to come out un¬ 
armed and take the oath of allegiance, suddenly found 
themselves surrounded by the Illyrian legions, and forth¬ 
with received from Severus the sentence of banishment, 
under penalty of death if found within the hundredth 
milestone of Rome after a certain number of days. Jeered 
' at by both the soldiers and the populace, many of the 
praetorians, overcome by shame, committed suicide on the 
spot and the rest slunk away into obscurity. It was indeed 
a heavy blow. But there was no more impoverishment of 
the treasury to keep the guard quiet; besides which the 
1 Ante, page 241. 


[ 247 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

Emperor was now free to pursue the campaigns against 
Niger and Albinus without fear of a praetorian conspiracy 
behind his back. 1 So after the overthrow of Albinus, when 
twenty-nine senators, convicted of a conspiracy in his favor, 
were summarily put to death, 2 and at the same time every 
one else who had sided against the Emperor paid for the 
penalty with life or fortune,—Severus justified this whole¬ 
sale destruction of a faction in the laconic remark, “A man 
must be cruel once, that he may afterwards be merciful 
for the rest of his life.” 

Septimius made some good laws, erected some noble 
buildings, 3 and fought many hard battles in defence of the 
Empire. With the learned and upright Papinian as his 
chief counsellor, his legislation went hand in hand with 
the admirable administrative work which he himself in 
the main directed. His highest gift to the State was the 
reestablishment of public order, which had flown to the 
winds under Commodus. The chief reproach upon his 
memory is the cruel persecution of the Christians, which, 
suspended even by the bloody tyrant who preceded him, 
was renewed with increased severity by Septimius. 

During his first campaign in Syria, Severus became ac- 

1 Within two years, however, the guard was reorganized, and in the end 
became worse and more dangerous than ever, the Emperor having in¬ 
creased the number to forty thousand. As originally constituted by Au¬ 
gustus, there were three cohorts of one thousand men each, but from Ves¬ 
pasian’s time there were ten cohorts. The number of the praetorians was 
greatly reduced by the Emperor Diocletian, and under Constantine the 
Great they passed out of history. 

2 Among them was Sulpicianus, who had tried to buy the imperial robes 
which had just been stained with the blood of his son-in-law. Ante , 
page 241. 

3 Among them the peculiar Septizonium, the ruins of which are yet 
standing at the southeast corner of the Palatine, and the magnificent 
triumphal arch which still dominates the Forum Romanum. 

[ 248 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

quainted with the beautiful young daughter of Julius Bas- 
sianus, a priest of the Sun at Emesa 1 ; and learning that it 
had been foretold that she would become an empress, the 
superstitious African married her forthwith. Julia Domna 2 
proved herself a helpmate in the highest sense. Beautiful, 
virtuous , 3 intellectual, prudent, and yet ambitious withal, 
we can well believe that the Emperor both respected and 
leaned upon his wife, who accompanied him upon his ex¬ 
peditions 4 and indeed is said to have first prompted him 
to assume the purple. Supported by her sister and two 
nieces , 5 also famous for their beauty and mental gifts, the 
Empress gathered about her a circle of learned men, and 
so impressed herself upon the society of the times that her 
intellectual tastes are said to have lingered upon the Pala¬ 
tine long after “Julia the Philosopher” had followed her 
husband to the grave. She was the mother of four chil¬ 
dren : two daughters, of whom there is no trace in history, 

1 The name of this deity was Elagabalus. See post , page 259. 

2 It is a question whether “Domna” is a Roman appellation meaning mis¬ 
tress, or whether the word was merely a Syrian proper name. 

3 She was indeed reproached by the scandal-mongers of her day with 
many immoralities. But in view of what is actually known about her life, 
the charge seems incredible. Certainly if the beautiful bust that we see in 
the rotunda of the Vatican (No. 554 of the Catalogue) is indeed that of 
“ Julia Pia Domna,” one need not be a physiognomist of any of the schools 
from Aristotle to Lavater to insist upon something more than insinuation 
before conceding immoralities to this pure, intellectual, and noble-looking 
woman. 

4 From this fact she received the title “ Mother of Camps,” which 
appellation, with a figure of the Empress standing in front of three 
military standards, was actually impressed upon some of the coins of 
the reign. 

5 These latter were Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea, each of whom af¬ 
terwards became the mother of an Emperor, and their mother was the 
celebrated Julia Maesa, who played an important part in the history of 
a subsequent reign. See post , page 258. 

[ 249 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

and two sons, one the wild but unfortunate Geta, the 
other named Bassianus, afterwards inscribed upon the roll 
of infamy as Caracalla. 1 

In the year 208 Severus, although in his sixty-third 
year, wearying of the inactive life at Rome, set out upon 
what proved to be a last and disastrous campaign. Ac¬ 
companied by the Empress and their sons, he proceeded to 
Britain, where for three years he pursued a fitful and in¬ 
effectual campaign against the northern barbarians, under 
their legendary heroes Fingal and Ossian. The loss of fifty 
thousand of his best troops compelled the Emperor to 
make a rather humiliating treaty with the unconquerable 
wild men of the north; and after partly rebuilding the 
great wall by which Hadrian had endeavored to keep the 
barbarians out, Severus, broken in health and spirit, re¬ 
tired to York to die. It is said that Caracalla, having been 
detected in a plot to dethrone his father and forgiven by 
the latter, afterwards attempted to assassinate the Em¬ 
peror while on the march. But the story, although not 
at all improbable, rests upon insufficient evidence; and as 
Huruy says, “To these doubtful legends we shall prefer 
the truly imperial words of the old Emperor—‘It is to me 
a great satisfaction to leave in profound peace the Empire 
which I found a prey to dissensions of every kind.”’ He 
died with the characteristic words—(an order to the guard 
who came for the countersign)—“Go and see if anything 
is to be done.” He was sixty-five years old and had reigned 
eighteen years. 

Geta—Caracalla: 211-217 a. d. After the example 
set by the lofty-minded Aurelius in the choice of his suc¬ 
cessor, that a man of the type of Severus should also have 

1 See Note 2 to Caracalla, page 251. 

[ 250 ] 



MARCUS AURELIUS 
























■ 



















































































. 




























































*** 











* 



































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

yielded to the natural sentiment of heredity, even in favor 
of Caracalla, excites no surprise. On the eve of the final 
campaign against Albinus, the Emperor having himself 
previously taken the designation of “the son of Marcus 
Aurelius,” 1 the army was induced to proclaim Bassianus 
Caesar under the name of Aurelius Antoninus. 2 The act 
was immediately confirmed by the Senate, and one year 
later, when Caracalla was only eleven years old, his father 
clothed him with the tribunitian power, equivalent to as¬ 
sociation in the Empire, at the same time proclaiming his 
younger son Geta as Caesar. 

It was thus plainly their father’s intention that the 
brothers should share the Empire, and all of the Em¬ 
peror’s dispositions were made accordingly. But he seems 
to have assumed that Caracalla would be the dominant 
spirit, and with a view of securing an experienced mentor 
for his son, against the latter’s wishes he had been com¬ 
pelled to marry Plautilla, daughter of the prefect Plau- 
tianus, an overbearing and unscrupulous official, in whom 
the Emperor, however, reposed implicit confidence. Cara¬ 
calla was only about fifteen years of age at the time of 
this marriage, which so enraged him that he not only re¬ 
fused to live with the young Augusta, but shortly after 

1 The act was preceded by a veritable adoption, with full legal forms, the 
main object of Severus being to secure that portion of the immense 
wealth of Commodus which had not passed to the latter’s sisters. In this 
way becoming the brother of Commodus, Severus was in a measure forced 
to rehabilitate the other’s accursed memory; which perhaps more than 
anything else occasioned the conspiracy in favor of Albinus. 

2 Bassianus has invariably been known in history as Caracalla, which was 
the name of a Gallic garment, a sort of tunic with a hood, which he dis¬ 
tributed among his soldiers and the common people of Rome. The sur¬ 
name of Caracalla, however, like that of Caligula and Elagabalus, was 
never officially recognized, merely having passed into history from the 
mouths of the people. 


[ 251 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

the marriage himself actually killed her father in the 
palace and very presence of the Emperor. He had in¬ 
fluence enough with his father to procure the banish¬ 
ment of the son and daughter of Plautianus to Lipari; 
where a few years later Caracalla did not fail to perform 
his “marriage vow” to Plautilla, that he would kill her 
when he became Emperor—her brother perishing at the 
same time. 

Geta was twenty-two years of age at the time of his 
father’s death, while Caracalla had not yet completed his 
twenty-third year. The two brothers had long been at 
swords’ points, even in the sports of their younger days 
hating each other with bitter rivalry, which at one time 
during a chariot race resulted in a broken thigh for the 
elder. Shunning the refined surroundings and influences 
of their mother, the wild and fiery young princes rushed 
into every sort of pleasure, associating with the lowest 
and roughest elements of the city. The Emperor, upon 
his death-bed, had exhorted his sons to union; although 
it is difficult to believe that he did not foresee the inevi¬ 
table tragedy from conferring equal rights upon two hot¬ 
headed boys, of whom one at least had already disclosed 
a base and wicked nature. 

After their father’s death the brothers set out together 
for Rome, their jealousy and suspicion of each other be¬ 
coming stronger as the journey progressed. Immediately 
upon their arrival, the soldiers were apportioned between 
them and stationed respectively on either side of the di¬ 
viding line across the Palatine, which had been agreed 
upon by the two Emperors and was picketed by their re¬ 
spective guards. It was obvious that the explosion would 
not long be delayed. The Empress Julia is said to have 
inquired of her sons, “And will you also divide me?” to 
[ 252 ] 



FAUSTINA WIFE OF MARCUS AURELIUS 




















































































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

avoid the embarrassment of which situation and of its 
recurrence, Caracalla speedily made his plans. Like his 
renowned father, he believed in one strong blow. He 
begged his mother to bring about a reconciliation, and 
Geta having in this way been enticed into the apart¬ 
ments of the Empress, Caracalla stabbed him, actually in 
his mother’s arms, where he had taken refuge, her gray 
hair and widow’s weeds being dabbled with the blood of 
a son slain by his brother. Caracalla at once ran to the 
guard and declared that he had barely escaped assassina¬ 
tion at the hands of Geta; whereupon the latter was pro¬ 
nounced a public enemy, his statues were overthrown, his 
name was erased from the public monuments , 1 and the 
sword with which he had been slain was “consecrated” by 
the murderer, in the Temple of Serapis. 

On the day following the murder, hell—that is to say 
the guard 2 —was let loose, and from that moment a reign 
of blood began. Twenty thousand partisans of Geta were 
murdered in the palace alone. The list of senatorial vic¬ 
tims was also long, and at this time the noble Papinian 
and his son, the son of the Emperor Pertinax, an own 
cousin of Caracalla, and a daughter and grandson of Mar¬ 
cus Aurelius met the same fate. 

Having made this clean sweep of his enemies, open and 
suspected, Caracalla embarked upon a career of vice, out¬ 
rage, and savage wickedness which for sheer brutality had 
never been surpassed at Rome. Shameless orgies at the 
palace, massacres in the amphitheatres, open murders in 
the streets, a loose rein given to every form of vice,— 
once again the devoted city found itself under the heel of 

1 Geta’s name is said to be partly legible upon the Arch of Severus in 
the Forum. 

2 The praetorians had been reestablished. See note, ante , page 248. 

[ 253 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

a frantic madman; 1 and this time there was no Marcia 
either to stay the hand of persecution or rid the world of 
its tyrant. Acting upon a maxim attributed to his father,— 
“Make the soldiers content and laugh at the rest,”—he 
practically turned the Empire over to the army, which 
was enough to counteract what little virtue and virility 
may have dared to show itself in the State. 

After making a shambles of the Imperial City, in the au¬ 
tumn of 215, it having come to his ears that his Egyptian 
subjects had spoken ill of him because of Geta’s murder, 
he set out for Alexandria in pursuit of vengeance. Inviting 
the principal citizens to a banquet, at the end of the feast 
he commanded that every guest should be put to death. 
After personally seeing that not a man escaped, he ordered 
out all the troops, and stationing himself in the Temple of 
Serapis, he directed a massacre which in extent and cold¬ 
blooded barbarity has perhaps never been equalled. For 
days the carnage continued—without distinction of sex, 
age, or condition—the slaughter ceasing actually not until 
the strength of the butchers failed. And at Rome, when 
the news was received, a complacent Senate commemo¬ 
rated the event by a coin representing Egypt trampled 
by the “Victorious Emperor”! 

But the Erinyes were not dead; 2 the tyrant’s dreams of 
a figure threatening with sword in hand were about to be 
fulfilled. In April, 217, Caracalla set out for Emesa to 
consult the sun-god, of which his mother’s father, whose 

1 That Caracalla had intermittent attacks of insanity is asserted by many 
writers, who believe that, like Nero and Caligula, the breaking-down of 
his mind was caused by the secret administration of so-called “love 
philters.” Ante, page 91. 

2 The Erinyes were the Greek goddesses of Vengeance, of which the 
Dirae of the Roman poets are an adaptation. They proceeded upon the 
simple principle “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” 

[ 254 ] 





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EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS 




















































































































































































































































































































































































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

name he bore, had been a priest. About this time there 
had come addressed to him from Rome a letter in which 
he was warned to beware of Macrinus, his prefect of the 
guards, who was with him at the time . 1 By chance this 
letter fell into the hands of Macrinus himself, and though 
apparently free from thought of treachery, he saw plainly 
his impending fate and resolved to strike first. With the 
help of a disgruntled soldier the act was readily accom¬ 
plished. During the journey above mentioned, Caracalla 
alighting from his horse one day was stabbed in the back, 
and his future unrolled without calling upon the oracle of 
the sun-god. His murderer deserved an apotheosis—in¬ 
stead of which he was torn to pieces by the Emperor’s 
escort. Caracalla had reigned six years and was barely 
twenty-nine years of age at the time of his death . 2 

Macrinus: 217-219 a. d. Marcus Opelius Macrinus was 
a native of Caesarea, in Africa. That he was of the hum¬ 
blest origin is evident from the fact that he had fought 
under the lanista , and had his ears pierced for ear-rings, 

1 Severus not only reorganized the guards by enrolling picked men from 
all the legions, instead of from Italy alone as theretofore, but he em¬ 
ployed the new cohorts in all his wars, his successors doing likewise. 

2 Apart from the horrors associated with his memory, the name of Cara¬ 
calla recalls those magnificent baths whose stupendous ruins, next to the 
Colosseum the most remarkable in Rome, break upon the eye looking 
southeast from the house of Severus on the Palatine. The enormous size 
of the original structure is almost beyond comprehension; the thermos 
themselves, with marble seats for three thousand bathers, having been 
surrounded with a magnificent colonnade nearly a mile in length. The 
premature death of Caracalla preventing his completion of this vast work, 
it was finished by his successors, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. 
Among the masterpieces of art which adorned the baths were the Flora 
Farnese, the Hercules of Glycon, and the wonderful Famese Bull, now 
in the Borbonico Museum at Naples. 

[ 255 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

which custom was almost peculiar to the condition of sla¬ 
very. By the favor of Plautianus, however, he had been 
brought to the attention of the Emperor Severus, who 
made him superintendent of the post service of the Fla- 
minian Way. For some reason he was not involved in the 
catastrophe which overtook his* protector at the hands of 
Caracalla, 1 who elevated Macrinus to the important post 
of praetorian prefect. The accounts of his character are 
contradictory; some writers asserting that he was mild 
and just, while others describe him as severe, false, and 
intriguing. 

The death of Caracalla was greeted with unequivocal 
demonstrations of rage by the soldiers, and Macrinus hav¬ 
ing won their favor by professing the greatest sorrow for 
their common loss, the army was easily induced to pro¬ 
claim him Emperor. He was invested with the purple on 
the twelfth of April, 217, and at the same time his son 
Diadumenianus was proclaimed Caesar. 

The widowed Empress was at Antioch when the death 
of her son and the accession of Macrinus were noised 
abroad. Her cup of bitterness was now full. Cast down 
from her position of supreme authority, which, conferred 
by her deferential husband, had, it must be admitted in 
justice to Caracalla, been continued by the latter, she at 
last found herself alone with her unhappy memories: the 
thoughts of her dead husband, of the fratricidal murder of 
one son and the assassination of the other, embittered by 
the reflection that the low-born adventurer who had com¬ 
pleted the destruction of her house had himself succeeded 
to its power. She was suffering, too, from an incurable 
malady, and in a fit of despair the proud Julia Pia .Domna, 
the “Mother of Camps,” “Mother Augusta,” “Mother of 

1 See ante, page 251. 


[ 256 ] 



COMM O DUS 














































• . 






























' 
























4 






































































































































































- 














































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

the Senate,” “Mother of the Country,” as she had been 
variously entitled in the proud and happy days at Rome, 
deliberately sought through the medium of suicide that 
oblivion which, in her hour of supreme anguish and need, 
was the highest consolation her Stoic philosophy could 
supply . 1 

Although the new Emperor was both a man of ideas 
and of good impulses, he was too timid in disposition and 
too petty in method to secure himself in the high position 
which he had so unexpectedly acquired. Prevented by a 
Parthian invasion of Mesopotamia from hastening at once 
to Rome, the flattering letters which, with a view to gain¬ 
ing their favor, he wrote to the Conscript Fathers, promis¬ 
ing to reestablish their influence over that of the army, 
aroused the jealousy of the soldiers, already provoked by 
some fitful disciplinary and economic measures which 
Macrinus had instituted. Serious reverses which he met in 
the war, necessitating a humiliating peace with the Ar¬ 
menians, increased the discontent of the army, which was 
further incensed by the payment to the Parthian King 
of a large sum by way of a “pension,” so called; money 
which, it was openly declared among the soldiers, would 
have come to them if Caracalla had been alive. The con¬ 
ditions were ripe for the change which was at hand. 

After the death of Caracalla s mother, her sister Maesa, 
and the latter’s two daughters, Soeemias and Mamaea , 2 had 
been banished to their old Syrian home at Emesa, where 
a legion was also sent, presumably to keep an eye upon 
these relations of the dead Emperor. This act of the tim¬ 
orous usurper proved his undoing. He should either have 

1 A statement that Julia killed herself in obedience to a secret order 
from Macrinus cannot be substantiated. 

2 See ante, page 249, Note 5. 


[ 257 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

left the Syrians alone, or—as Severus would have done— 
destroyed them as conspirators at a blow. The three 
women were intelligent, courageous, and rich, and the 
Temple of the Sun, of which their family had long been 
priests, had the right of asylum and afforded shelter for 
both their persons and their wealth. Sosemias, the elder 
daughter, had a son named Bassianus—afterwards known 
to history as Elagabalus. 1 He was then fourteen years old, 
of remarkable beauty, and had already been consecrated to 
the priesthood of the God of Emesa. Through this boy 
Massa determined to avenge her race; and for the success 
of the intrigue, as Duruy says, “Msesa sacrificed her gold, 
Sosemias her honor; but neither of them cared for what 
they lost.” Servants of the palace spread the report that 
Elagabalus was actually the son of Caracalla, and the im¬ 
mense sum of money distributed among the soldiers at 
the same time easily persuaded them of the truth of the 
story and that Bassianus was the rightful heir to the 
throne. The legion declared for Elagabalus, and on the six¬ 
teenth of May, 218, he was proclaimed Emperor, as Mar¬ 
cus Aurelius Antoninus. The revolt spread quickly; from 
all points in Syria deserters from Macrinus came to Emesa, 
and it was not long before the army of Elagabalus was 
strong enough to take the field. A battle occurred on the 
confines of Syria and Phoenicia. Macrinus might easily 
have won, but he had no faith in his destiny and at an 
early hour of the combat abandoned his troops, who there¬ 
upon took the oath to Elagabalus. Intrusting his son to 
some faithful servants who were to conduct him to the 
Parthians, the father fled to Byzantium, hoping to escape 
this way to Rome. He had nearly made an asylum when 
the soldiers of Elagabalus overtook him. While they were 

1 See next page. 


[ 258 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

conducting him to the conqueror news reached the un¬ 
happy Macrinus that his boy had been taken and killed. 
In a paroxysm of despair he threw himself from the 
chariot and broke his shoulder; whereupon the guards put 
him to death. He was fifty-four years old and had reigned 
barely a year . 1 

Elagabalus: 218-222 a. d. The new master of the Ro¬ 
man world, Varius Avitus Bassianus, was of pure Syrian 
descent, his relationship to the family of Severus having 
already been explained. Although his mother, Julia Soae- 
mias, who is represented on coins as the Heavenly Virgin, 
was accused by Lampridius of mundane frailties, the re¬ 
port that Caracalla was the father of her son was a pure 
fabrication. And it is quite possible that this false report 
was itself the basis of the historian’s accusation against 
the mother who apparently cared so little for virtue that 
she willingly sacrificed her reputation to advance the in¬ 
terests of her son. 

Being high priest of the Sun at the time he was pro¬ 
claimed, the Emperor chose to be called Elagabalus, which 
was the name of the sun-god , 2 the deity of his race. This 
god, represented by a shapeless black stone which the 
Emperor brought with him to Rome from Emesa, he con¬ 
stituted the supreme divinity of the Empire, honoring it 
with barbarous songs, lascivious dances, and the immola¬ 
tion of children. Upon this impure and sensuous religion 
as a foundation the effeminate young Syrian developed a 
character which has ever remained in the memory of men 

1 He was defeated by Elagabalus on June 8, 218, having been proclaimed 
April 12, 217. 

2 The Graecized form of the word was Heliogabalus, by which name the 
Emperor was sometimes called. 

[ 259 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

as the symbol of enthroned infamy. During the brief period 
of his reign, the barbarians being quiet and public agita¬ 
tion having subsided, Rome was at peace; and the master 
of all things, human and divine, was accordingly free from 
the necessity of self-restraint whatsoever. The pages of 
Lampridius fairly reek with the recital of his absurd ex¬ 
travagances, abominable vices, and infamous debauchery. 
Yielding absolutely to his mother and grandmother the 
direction of the State, the effeminate young voluptuary 
abandoned himself to a life which has been summed up as 
“gluttony which would have driven Vitellius to despair, 
lewdness such as to make Nero blush, scenes of infamy 
which can only be told in Latin.” In the short space of 
his reign—less than four years—he married and repudi¬ 
ated in turn no less than five wives, all of eminent family, 
one of whom, Annia Faustina, was a descendant of Marcus 
Aurelius, while another, Julia Aquilia Severa, he took by 
force from the Altar of Vesta—a sacrilege which it is said 
made even the Romans of that time tremble. 

While Soaemias, rather than attempting to restrain her 
contemptible son, if anything encouraged him in his 
shameful excesses, his grandmother Msesa, who had lived 
in the orderly administration of Severus, did not fail to real¬ 
ize that the young profligate would not long be tolerated; 
and (perhaps fearing another Macrinus) she deliberately 
set about supplanting him by her grandson Alexander, the 
only son of her younger daughter, Julia Mamaea. Adroitly 
inducing Elagabalus to confer upon his cousin the title of 
Caesar and adopt him as his son, she at the same time by 
large gifts, secretly made to the praetorians, enlisted their 
interest in favor of Alexander, who was as admirable in 
character as Elagabalus was despicable. The plan gathered 
force as its success became assured, and the besotted young 
[ 260 ] 



CRISPIN A WIFE OF COMMODUS 






DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

boy who was dragging the purple in the mire began to 
realize his danger. His first impulse was to strike openly; 
and he ordered the Senate to revoke the title of Cassar 
which had been conferred upon Alexander, whom at the 
same time he threatened to kill. But the order coming to 
the ears of the praetorians, they raised such a tumult that 
Elagabalus himself narrowly escaped death. He then 
sought to accomplish his purpose by secret means; but 
the vigilance of Mamaea, who surrounded her son with 
trusty guards and never even allowed him to partake of 
food or wine that had not previously been tasted, proved 
too much for the weak and irresolute Emperor. The latter 
finally hit upon the device of circulating a report that 
Alexander had died, thinking that when the soldiers 
should have accepted the fact he would be free to assassi¬ 
nate his cousin without danger. The result was as tragic 
as the plan was absurd. Secretly informed through Mamsea 
that the young prince was alive, the guard invaded the 
palace, demanding that Alexander be produced. A tumult 
broke out, Elagabalus, like the guilty wretch he was, fly¬ 
ing at the first outbreak. The guards, incited perhaps by 
Mamsea, resolved to end the matter once for all. The 
miserable young Emperor was found concealed with his 
mother in an outhouse, where they were both slain, the 
corpse of the former being dragged through the streets 
and flung into the Tiber, while the Senate consigned his 
memory to infamy. He was barely eighteen 1 and had 
reigned (?) three years and nine months. 

Alexander Severus : 222-235 a. d. The last of the 
Syrian princes who ruled the Roman world was sixteen 
years of age when he became Emperor. He was proclaimed 

1 According to Herodian; Lampridius says he was twenty-one. 

[ 261 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

i 

under the name of Marcus Aurelius Alexander , 1 but has 
passed into history as Alexander Severus; having taken 
the name of the Macedonian hero from a temple in the 
city of his birth consecrated to Alexander, while that of 
Severus was added by the soldiers in memory of him who 
was by many believed, although without ground, to be the 
new Emperors grandfather. And as if the black stone of 
Emesa 2 had been tumbled into the Tiber and there dis¬ 
appeared forever, with the mortal remains of its high priest, 
the new Emperor added to his official designation the title 
of Priest of Rome (Sacerdos Urbia), and the rule of the 
sun-god, with all of its Oriental sensuousness, was at an end. 

During the reign of his predecessor, most of the impor¬ 
tant imperial functions were discharged by Soeemias, whose 
name appeared with those of consuls and who subscribed 
legislative decrees as a member of the Assembly. While 
fully resolved to herself retain the substance of power, the 
wise mother of Alexander discreetly procured the early 
enactment of a law forever excluding women from the 
Senate; and by thus openly repudiating an odious innova¬ 
tion of Elagabalus and his mother greatly strengthened 
Mamaea’s prestige, which continued throughout her son’s 
reign. Fortunately for the young Emperor, destined from 
the beginning to the domination of his mother, Julia 
Mamaea was a woman of liberal views and lofty character. 
Her inquiring mind and political sagacity are indicated by 
her correspondence with Origen , 3 and with a single excep- 

1 The Senate urged Alexander to also adopt the name of Antoninus; but 
the Emperor nobly refused “the borrowed lustre of a great name.” 

2 See ante, page 259. 

3 Her association with the great theologian of the ancient Church ac¬ 
counts in part for the supposition that Mamaea was a Christian. There 
seems to be ground for the statement that she instructed Alexander in 
the morality of Christianity. 


[ 262 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

tion , 1 she seems to have labored persistently, unselfishly, 
and in the main wisely for her son’s happiness and the 
genuine welfare of the State. From early childhood Alex¬ 
ander had been surrounded by instructors of the highest 
character and integrity; thus developing by education the 
boy’s natural tendencies towards uprightness and morality. 
As a result Rome once more beheld upon the Palatine the 
virtue, simplicity, and pure example which were there 
enthroned during the benign reign of Antoninus—a last 
gleam of sunlight before the impending gloom should de¬ 
scend. Amiable, simple in tastes, pure in morals, animated 
by a genuine desire to benefit the people and to do good 
in every possible way—in short, apparently basing his life 
upon that fundamental maxim of the Gospels, “As ye 
would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to 
them,”—this Syrian boy, fresh from the selfish, effeminate, 
and sensuous influences of Oriental sun-worship, “in the 
heart of depraved, rotten Rome, in the teeth of the de¬ 
bauched courtiers and reptile Senate, singling out this 
golden rule of conduct,” 2 inevitably challenges our admi¬ 
ration and sympathy, whether our estimate of Alexander 
is based upon the possibly exaggerated praises of Lampri- 
dius or the apparently unjust severity of Herodian. Al¬ 
though in the main following the latter, Gibbon’s estimate 
of Alexander may nevertheless be accepted as perhaps the 
best possible summing-up of his character in its relation 
to the imperial office: “The abilities of the amiable prince 
seem to have been inadequate to the difficulties of the sit¬ 
uation, the firmness of his conduct inferior to the purity 
of his intentions .” 3 

1 See next page. 

2 Bonner’s Rome , Vol. ii. page 192. 

3 The Decline and Fall, Vol. i. chap, vi. 

[ 263 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

With the consent of Mamsea, Alexander first married 
the daughter of a patrician, whose name has been for¬ 
gotten. The young Augusta is said to have loved her hus¬ 
band tenderly, which perhaps accounts for the jealousy 
displayed by Mamasa; at least no other cause is assigned 
for her cruelty towards the Empress, who, upon the request 
of his mother, whom he dared not oppose, was banished 
by Alexander while lamenting his hard lot . 1 Although the 
Emperor remarried, history has not deemed his second 
wife worthy of mention—the only proof of her existence 
being her inscription, with the title of Augusta , upon some 
coins of the period, where her name appears as Gnea Seia 
Herennia Sallustia Barbia Orbiana. 

Although Rome was at peace during the first part of 
his reign, the young Emperor was constantly being brow¬ 
beaten, insulted, and robbed by the praetorians, who on 
one occasion actually tore in pieces before his face their 
prefect, the great jurisconsult Ulpian, who had tried to 
check their turbulence, and whom Alexander vainly en¬ 
deavored to protect by covering him with the imperial 
purple. Neither rights nor property were respected; Em¬ 
peror, consuls, Senate, and people were at the mercy of 
the soldiers. Only the stern hand of a Severus could have 
met the situation; the gentle and passionless Alexander 
was utterly powerless to quell the turbulent spirits whom 
he both feared and failed to understand. 

In the tenth year of his reign the Persians under Ar- 
taxerxes invaded Roman Asia, and Alexander set out in 
defence of his Empire, returning after a two years’ cam- 

1 Her father, having complained to the praetorians of this severity, was 
put to death; while she herself is thought to have shared the fate of 
Plautilla. See Car walla, ante , page 252. 


[ 264 ] 



PERTINAX 



























































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

paign to celebrate at Rome a triumph which revived all 
the glories of Trajan and Severus. But the dark days were 
at hand. Germany had broken out into revolt, and the 
barbarians were ravaging Gaul. After a few months spent 
in preparation, Alexander, accompanied by his intrepid 
mother, again took the field—like Severus upon a similar 
occasion, never to return. His first act, when he came in 
contact with the enemy, sounded his doom; he sent rich 
gifts to the Germans with a proposal of peace—greatly 
angering his soldiers, who preferred both to fight and to 
keep the gold for themselves. Commanding the new levies 
which the Emperor had intrusted to him to be drilled 
was a gigantic Thracian named Maximin. Endowed with 
just enough intellect to realize that it was a time for brute 
force rather than for mildness and humane effort, he ha¬ 
rangued the recruits, who were easily persuaded to accept 
him as leader. Covering him with a purple mantle, they 
marched in arms to the Emperor’s tent, and the guard 
standing aside at the rebels’ bidding, Alexander and his 
mother were put to death upon the spot. Thus for the 
wise Mamasa and the virtuous Alexander, with all their 
lofty aims, there came at last the same dark fate which 
had engulfed the conscienceless Soeemias and her infamous 
son. No turbid Tiber, indeed, bore their dishonored bodies 
to the sea, and the Senate voted an apotheosis, instead of 
a decree of infamy, while posterity has not failed to accord 
this remarkable Syrian woman and her half-Christian son a 
high place upon the roll of those who have wrought nobly 
and with honor to themselves. But who shall say that 
to their pagan minds such thoughts could in any wise 
assuage the pain and bitterness of such an end, or awaken 
one single spark of resignation to their evil destiny? 


[ 265 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

Maximin I — Gordian I — Gordian II — Pupienus 
—Balbinus—Gordian III: 235-244 a. d. From the time 
of Commodus to the reign of Diocletian the soldiers were 
the actual masters of the Empire; and during the nine 
years following the death of Alexander they exercised 
their power by pulling down four Emperors whom the 
Senate had ventured to proclaim, besides murdering two 
others whom they themselves had selected. The reigns of 
these six Emperors are so interwoven that they are to be 
considered as merely incidents of a single administration. 

Caius Julius Verus Maximin, the murderer of Alexan¬ 
der, was the first barbarian to attain supreme power in the 
State whose triumphant arms had imposed the yoke upon 
the savage hordes from which he sprung. He was a native 
of Thrace, but his father was a Goth and his mother be¬ 
longed to the Alani 1 ; so that the blood of many wild 
races must have mingled in his veins. Distinguished by 
his gigantic stature and truly herculean strength, 2 —quali¬ 
ties which especially appealed to the warrior Severus,—he 
had been appointed by that Emperor, whose attention he 
had attracted during some games in his native land, to a 
position in the horse-guards . 3 Under Caracalla he was ad¬ 
vanced to the rank of centurion; but refusing to serve 
either Macrinus, whom he hated, or Elagabalus, whom he 
despised , 4 he only returned to Court upon the accession 

1 The Alani nation was made up of a number of nomadic tribes of East¬ 
ern origin. 

2 He was more than eight feet in height, and it is said that he could 
drink seven gallons of wine and eat thirty pounds of meat in a single 
day; that he could move a loaded wagon, break a horse’s leg with his 
fist, crumble stones in his hand, and tear up a small tree by the roots — 
a veritable Porthos in the Antique. 

3 The horse-guards attended upon the person of the Sovereign. 

4 Such discrimination does not entirely accord with his reputed lack of 

intelligence. r npp -i 




didii:s 







DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

of Alexander, by whom he was appointed tribune to the 
Fourth Legion, and in time to the first military command. 
Merciless in war and convinced that the welfare of the 
army was the chief end of the State—here was just the 
kind of man the soldiers wanted; and as at all times and 
in all ages, the man of the hour was accepted—his son 
Maximin at the same time being saluted as Caesar. 

The reign of Maximin was precisely what might be ex¬ 
pected from a man who could so ruthlessly destroy his 
chief benefactor. All of the household of Alexander, his 
friends and his councillors, were put to death, and cruelty, 
oppression, robbery, and pillage were openly practised by 
the Emperor, whose savage example was eagerly followed 
by the soldiers, freed at last from the sembhmce of re¬ 
straint which had been imposed upon them by Alexander. 
The Emperor, however, did not venture to visit Rome, 
where, as he knew, he was cordially hated both on account 
of his low birth and his open hostility to the classes, but 
seems to have deliberately sought through a victory over 
the barbarians to acquire some public sanction for his 
power. It was the mistake of Albinus repeated . 1 For while 
Maximin remained in Upper Pannonia to gain some in¬ 
considerable successes over the miserable German rustics, 
every opportunity for conspiracies occurred at home; and 
although the cowardly Senate did not dare to take the 
initiative, Rome speedily became ripe to follow the leader¬ 
ship of Carthage, where the explosion occurred. Enraged 
by the tyranny of the Emperor’s procurator for that prov¬ 
ince, the people rose, put the governor to death, and pre¬ 
vailed upon the aged Gordian to accept the purple. Gor¬ 
dian was a patrician of the bluest blood; his mother was 
of the family of Trajan, while through his father he claimed 
1 Ante, page 245. 


[ 267 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

descent from the Gracchi. Married to a granddaughter of 
Antoninus Pius, wealthy, scholarly, and of unquestioned 
integrity, it was thought that he might be just the coun¬ 
terpoise to the uncouth savage on the Danube. As he was 
then eighty years of age, it was deemed wise that his son 
should be associated with him, and a messenger was at 
once despatched to Rome with the news, together with 
a false report of Maximin’s death; whereupon the Con¬ 
script Fathers proclaimed the Gordians and declared the 
two Maximins, dead or alive, public enemies. The reply of 
the savage Goth—very much alive, as it appeared—was 
the despatch to Carthage of the Numidian legion, in at¬ 
tempting to resist which the younger Gordian was killed, 
his despairing father immediately committing suicide. They 
had reigned barely a month. 

Realizing their certain punishment if Maximin now 
should return to Rome, the Senate in sheer desperation 
plucked up spirit to continue what it had lacked the cour¬ 
age to begin. To direct the army which was to oppose 
Maximin, it selected Clodius Pupienus Maximus, who 
was at once proclaimed Emperor, together with Decimus 
Caelius Balbinus, who was to remain at Rome while his as¬ 
sociate was in the field, the two Emperors to have abso¬ 
lutely equal powers. Pupienus, although the son of a black¬ 
smith, being endowed with both force of character and 
ability, had attained the highest civil and military offices; 
his associate, who was a polished orator and had held the 
office of provincial magistrate, claimed his descent from a 
Spaniard named Balbus, who had been a friend of Caesar 
and Pompey. So that populace and patricians, it was 
thought, might fairly be satisfied, and Rome prepared 
with ardor to defend the Senate’s decree. 

If Maximin at this crisis of his fortunes had displayed 
[ 268 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 


the same energy which he had manifested in stamping out 
the Gordians, he might have achieved a like success. But 
for some reason he allowed several months to elapse before 
setting out for Rome, and during this precious interval 
the two Emperors not only perfected their defence, but 
actually succeeded in winning over most of the provincial 
legions. Attempting to enter Italy from the northeast, by 
way of Aquileia, Maximin met such a stubborn resistance 
from that city which he failed to overcome, that in a rage 
he put to death the officers who had conducted his opera¬ 
tions. Equally exasperated by this brutal act, discouraged 
by defeat, with famine staring them in the face,—their 
supplies having been cut off by the foresight and energy 
of Pupienus,—and many of them anxious for the safety of 
their families, who were within the enemy’s lines, the sol¬ 
diers mutinied. Maximin had himself taught them the way 
to the Emperor’s tent; with his son and the principal min¬ 
isters of his tyranny he was put to death by the praetorians, 
and the army took the oath to the victorious Pupienus 
and his colleague. Maximin had reigned just three years. 

The two Emperors celebrated their triumph amidst the 
acclamations of the Senate and the populace; but the 
praetorians are said to have regarded with silent displea¬ 
sure “the Senate’s Emperors”—the Fathers having im¬ 
prudently boasted of their triumph over the army. Pupie¬ 
nus, the soldier, was not deceived by the shouts of the 
multitude, and when Balbinus enthusiastically declared 
“We have gained the love of the people, of the Senate, 
and the whole human race,” the grim old general replied, 
“Our final recompense will be the sword.” It was, in fact, 
sharpening even as he spoke; and before the loyal German 
guard could be summoned, the praetorians forced the pal¬ 
ace gates, seized the two Emperors, and after subjecting 
[ 269 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

them to every indignity, dragged them through the streets 
to the camp, where they were slowly tortured to death 
(218 a. d.). They had reigned scarcely longer than the 
Gordians. 

At the time Pupienus and Balbinus were proclaimed, 
the few praetorians who were in the city insisted that they 
too should have a voice in the selection; and to quiet them 
at a time when the slightest opposition might be fatal, the 
Senate agreed that a grandson of the elder Gordian should 
become Caesar. 1 He was only twelve years old at the time, 
but that fact was considered, if at all, as an actual advan¬ 
tage by the soldiers; and after the murder of the two Em¬ 
perors the praetorians seized the young Gordian, who was 
borne to the camp and proclaimed Augustus. Wearied 
of the tumults and bloodshed, which beginning with the 
death of Alexander had culminated in the murder of five 
Emperors in as many months, every one seems to have 
acquiesced in this final result; and for several years the 
Empire was at peace. During the first part of the boy 
Emperor’s reign, to be sure, Rome had a sad time of it 
between the praetorians and the eunuchs, “that pernicious 
vermin of the East,” as Gibbon terms them, “who since 
the days of Elagabalus had infested the royal palace.” 
By the former the people were plundered directly, and in¬ 
directly by the latter, through their control of the palace 
and the treasury. But in the third or fourth year of his 
reign the young Gordian had the good fortune to secure 
a wise mentor in the person of his teacher of rhetoric, 
whose daughter Tranquillina he married. He immediately 
appointed his father-in-law praetorian prefect, and there¬ 
after wisely deferred to his counsel in all the affairs of the 

1 He is by some spoken of as the son of Gordian II, but more probably 
was a nephew. 


[ 270 ] 





SEPTIMIUS SEVER US 











DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

State. Although at the time of his elevation to power re¬ 
nowned only for his eloquence, Timesitheus (or Misitheus, 
as he is sometimes spoken of) proved to be a man of ver¬ 
satile genius; and by his prudence, energy, integrity, and 
genuine ability for administrative reform, speedily justified 
his right to the formal salutation of “Tutor of the State,” 
decreed to him by the Senate. The vile crowd which had 
domineered the palace was suppressed, the restless praeto¬ 
rians subdued and restrained, while order and discipline 
were reestablished in the army, which had been greatly 
disorganized under the turmoils and contentions of the five 
rivals for the purple. So that when the Persians again in¬ 
vaded the Empire under Sapor, guided by the wise coun¬ 
sels and firm hand of Timesitheus, the young Emperor 
gallantly relieved Antioch, which had been invested, drove 
the invaders back across the Euphrates and recaptured all 
of the Syrian cities which the Persians had conquered. 1 

But alas for the wisdom and virtue which in that evil 
time ventured to dignify the purple. In the midst of their 
triumphal progress the “Tutor of the State” succumbed 
to that dread imperial disease against which neither a 
spotless nor a shameless life, neither wisdom nor folly, 
neither guards, gods, nor ingenuity of man whatsoever 
afforded protection. Timesitheus was poisoned by a bold 
adventurer named Philip; and the soldiers being easily 
persuaded that Gordian was too inexperienced to rule and 
command alone, Philip was associated with the young 
Emperor, whose days had already been numbered. A 
feeble effort which was undertaken in his behalf by a few 
devoted friends resulted merely in hastening the inevitable: 
the Emperor was put to death by his father-in-law’s assas- 

1 Gordian’s departure from Rome upon this campaign was signalized by 
the opening of the Temple of Janus, for the last time recorded in history. 

[ 271 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

sin, receiving an apotheosis from the Senate, by whom 
Philip, who had written that Timesitheus and Gordian had 
“died,” and that he had been proclaimed by the army, was 
decreed the imperial titles. The third Gordian was about 
nineteen years of age at the time of his death, and had 
enjoyed the title of Emperor six years. 

Philip: 244-249 a. d. M. Julius Philippus was an Arab 
by birth and consequently, as Gibbon dryly observed, a 
thief by profession. His father at least was known as a 
famous robber chief of Trachonitis, 1 where Philip was born 
and passed his early years. Enrolled in the Roman army, 
he found the service not so far removed from the family 
calling as to prove uncongenial; and being shrewd, bold, 
and unscrupulous, he rose rapidly through the grades until 
upon the death of Timesitheus the unsuspecting Gordian 
appointed the murderer to his victim’s office of com¬ 
mander-in-chief. But notwithstanding his previous life, as 
far as can be judged from the fragmentary accounts of 
his reign, 2 Philip seems to have ruled if not with great wis¬ 
dom, at least moderately and without cruelty. His wife, 
the Empress Marcia Otacilia Severa, is said to have been 
a Christian; indeed the Emperor himself was thought to 
have embraced the new religion. Letters from Origen to 
both Philip and the Empress were in possession of Eu¬ 
sebius when he wrote his “Ecclesiastical History,” and it is 
certain that the Christians enjoyed undisturbed tranquillity 
during the reign of the “Arab robber.” 

Philip had a son, M. Junius Philippus, who although 
only seven years of age was proclaimed Caesar and Au¬ 
gustus ; while the relatives of the Emperor were advanced 

1 A province in Syria, south of Damascus. 

2 The Augustan History from 244 to 253 is lost. 

[ 272 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 


to the highest civil and military offices. The apparent de¬ 
sire of the low-born Emperor to elevate his family to the 
patrician rank eventually resulted in his downfall. Ex¬ 
asperated by the cruelties of Philip’s brother Priscus, who 
had been placed in command of the army in the East, the 
Syrians revolted and two of the rebels were proclaimed 
Augusti. Philip at once despatched an army to put down 
the rebellion, intrusting the command to a bold senator 
named Decius—the latter, however, strongly advising 
against the step, which he considered both unnecessary 
and dangerous. When Decius came to the Danubian 
legions, the latter could not resist the opportunity to 
make themselves felt in the State, and against the urgent 
objection of their new commander, Decius was proclaimed 
Emperor. He himself communicated the news to his im¬ 
perial master, and in apparent good faith declared that he 
would lay aside the purple upon his return to Rome. But 
Philip at once marched against him, and in an engagement 
near Verona the Arab Emperor was defeated and killed. 
When the news reached Rome the young Augustus, who 
was then twelve years of age, and it is said had never been 
known to smile, was murdered by the praetorians, and the 
rest of the family disappeared from view. Philip was per¬ 
haps forty-five years of age and had reigned five years. 

Decius: 249-251 a. d. It was a great satisfaction to 
Rome that in the selection of a successor to Philip the 
army did not subject the city and the Senate to the hu¬ 
miliation of accepting another Emperor chosen from the 
despised border races. C. Messius Quintus Trajanus De¬ 
cius, who had been proclaimed, was of Roman birth, and 
like many of his predecessors had risen to distinction from 
the humblest origin. Although his brief reign proved any- 
[ 273 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

thing but fortunate for the Empire, the praises of the old 
historians were apparently merited by Decius, who was 
brave, energetic, straightforward, and, according to his 
lights, genuinely concerned for the welfare and glory of 
the State, in whose defence he laid down his life. He was, 
however, narrow-minded and superstitious enough to ac¬ 
count for the woes of the Empire upon the theory that the 
gods were offended because those who blasphemed them 
were tolerated by the State. Decius accordingly inaugu¬ 
rated a widespread and shameful persecution of the Chris¬ 
tians; and although it lasted only a few months, 1 after 
which all the imprisoned votaries were set free, for the time 
being it appeared to be a veritable war of extermination. 

The reign of Decius was especially signalized by an in¬ 
vasion of the Goths, significant as the first great wave of 
that immense sea of barbaric marauders which gradually 
submerged the Empire and at last actually inundated the 
sacred city itself. There upon the Palatine where Romulus 
had built and Augustus, Severus, and Trajan had lived, 
this mighty force was destined to install a barbarian in¬ 
vader as an earnest that Rome had indeed fallen. 

After the death of Philip the new Emperor had jour¬ 
neyed leisurely to Rome, where his two sons, Quintus 
Herrennius and Valens Hostilianus, were each proclaimed 
Caesar. But the advance guards of the invaders had ap¬ 
peared in eastern Mcesia, 2 while the main body was fast 
approaching an important fortress on the Danube, which 
guarded the approach to Thrace. Hastily assembling his 
forces, Decius took the field and finally confronted the 

1 The invasion of the Goths, which soon demanded the undivided at¬ 
tention of the Emperor, explains why his other task was left unfinished. 

2 Mcesia included two provinces north of the Haemus Mountains (now 
the Balkans) in northern Thrace. 

[ 274 ] 



JULIA PI A DOMNA WIFE OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 
























































































. 






















































































































































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

Gothic leader, who had suffered a serious repulse by Gallus 
(afterwards Emperor) near the city of Nicopolis, in what 
is now Hungary. The barbarians at first retreated and the 
Emperor at one time might have annihilated the entire 
host. But he seems to have been drawn into a trap; the 
Goths suddenly fell upon him with all their forces, and, as 
it is alleged, aided by the treachery of Gallus, they suc¬ 
ceeded in completely routing the imperial troops, Decius 
and his eldest son being among the killed. It was the first 
time a Roman Emperor had fallen upon Roman soil at 
the hand of an enemy; and the death of Decius, in its 
moral effect, may be accounted the first great blow among 
the disasters which finally crushed the Empire. 

Gallus—ACmilianus: 251-254 a. d. C. Vibius Trebo- 
nianus Gallus, who succeeded Decius, was a native of the 
island of Meninx in Africa. The highest military position 
which he had previously attained was that of dux in 
Moesia—the title designating only a general in command 
of a special expedition, with no iviperium other than that 
exercised over his own soldiers, and hence inferior to that 
of an imperial legate at the head of the legions. Gallus 
was plainly a man of mediocrity, and beyond his first 
slight advantage over the Goths, he seems to have ren¬ 
dered no assistance to Decius in the latter’s emergency; 
but the charges of treachery which were insinuated by the 
friends of his predecessor seem unwarranted. The Emperor, 
nevertheless, suffered under the taint of suspicion, which 
he endeavored to remove by associating with him in the 
Empire Hostilianus, 1 the surviving son of Decius. The 
latter, however, did not long escape the dread disease 
which infected the Palatine; whereupon the Emperor’s 

1 He had been created Caesar in his father’s lifetime. 

[ 275 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

son, Volusianus, who had married a daughter of Decius, 
was proclaimed Augustus. Other than a bust in the “Hall 
of Emperors” this son of Gallus left no trace of his claim 
to the imperial power. 

The charms of a luxurious life at the capital city out¬ 
weighed with Gallus either the dignity or safety of the 
State; and after concluding a disgraceful treaty with the 
Goths, who were not only permitted to retire with all their 
prisoners and booty, but were also promised a large annual 
payment in money, the Emperor hastened to Rome. Al¬ 
though between fifty and sixty years of age, Gallus re¬ 
signed himself to a life of frivolity and dissipation, turning 
a deaf ear to all the appeals for aid which came pouring 
into Rome from wretched Pannonia. For the insatiable 
Goths had returned, and in their train stalked famine and 
pestilence, those twin ghosts of barbaric warfare. But soon 
the people began to murmur. Instead of the blasphemous 
Christians who had aroused the anger of the gods, it was 
their “coward Emperor” who was now held responsible 
for the national disasters; so that when the army—which 
had always resented the Senate’s choice of Gallus—pre¬ 
pared to vindicate its rights, all Rome stood ready to ap¬ 
plaud what it lacked the spirit to inaugurate. 

The governor of Pannonia at this time was a Maureta¬ 
nian named Almilianus. Having engaged the army’s atten¬ 
tion by some slight successes over the Goths, he completely 
won the approval of the troops by distributing among 
them the gold which Gallus had sent for the promised 
tribute to the barbarians. The enraptured soldiers at once 
invested him with the purple, and mustering all his forces 
iEmilianus set out for Rome. Roused by this personal 
danger from the sloth and indifference which had been 
proof against every peril of the State, Gallus hastily de- 
[ 276 ] 



CLODIUS ALBINUS 



















































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

spatched Valerian to mobilize the Gallic and German 
legions, while he himself set out for the northern frontier. 
But his hour had struck. The Danubians had already 
crossed the Julian Alps, and the Emperor encountered 
them at the city of Terni, scarcely seventy miles from 
Rome. No battle was fought, however. The imperial 
troops, cherishing a hearty contempt for their effeminate 
Emperor, and attracted by the fame and liberality of 
iEmilianus, were ripe for revolt; Gallus and his son were 
put to death by their own soldiers, who united with the 
provincial army in proclaiming the victor. 

Gallus had reigned three years, but scarcely as many 
months elapsed between the elevation and the downfall of 
his successor. 

M. ^Emilius -dEmilianus was one of those men whose 
intense personal conceit enables them for a time, at least, 
to conceal indifferent ability by an occasional showy act. 
His selection by the army was quickly confirmed by the 
Senate, but both the Conscript Fathers and the soldiers 
reckoned without regard to Valerian and his legions, who 
were fast coming up from Gaul and Lower Germany. While 
iEmilianus was composing boastful addresses to the Sen¬ 
ate, declaring his intention of driving out the barbarians 
from the northern and eastern portions of the Empire,— 
to which the Conscript Fathers replied by the coinage of 
both flattering medals and titles for “Mars the Avenger,”— 
the troops of Valerian suddenly debouched upon the plains 
of Spoleto, where iEmilianus had lain encamped ever since 
the death of Gallus. The bloodless “battle of Terni” was 
to be repeated. Awed both by the superior strength of the 
eastern legions and the military reputation of their leader, 
the murderers of Gallus themselves avenged that Emperor 
by presenting to Valerian the head of ^Emilianus; and the 
[ 277 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

new Augustus (whose soldiers had several months earlier 
decorated him with the purple) now became head of the 
State by the unanimous voice of the Roman world. 

Valerian—Gallienus—The Thirty Tyrants: 254- 
268 a. d. Publius Licinius Valerianus was of an old Roman 
family, and if we may believe the ancient writers, the no¬ 
bility of his character at least equalled that of his birth. 
He seems to have invariably sided with the better elements 
in the State, and as a friend of the elder Gordian he acted 
a spirited part in the struggle against Maximin. He had 
worked his way up through the grades, but had passed his 
sixtieth year when he attained the tribunate (under Gallus). 
Of unblemished character, mild and unassuming in manner, 
revered by Senate and people—if mankind had been al¬ 
lowed to choose a master, says an old writer cited by Gib¬ 
bon, the choice would have fallen on Valerian. Indeed if 
it had not been for those terrible barbarians, Rome might 
well have believed that the Empire was once more to en¬ 
joy the benignancy of the first Antonines. 

By the Emperor Decius, Valerian had been chosen to 
fill the office of censor, which had fallen into disuse since 
the days of Titus, who was the last incumbent, the example 
of Trajan, who modestly refused the honor, having become 
a law to the Antonines. But however qualified he may 
have been to maintain if not actually to restore the morals 
of the State, 1 and notwithstanding all the admitted ex¬ 
cellencies of his character, Valerian proved to be anything 
but the man for the times and his reign was one of the 
most calamitous and miserable in the history of the State. 

1 The office of censor was very widespread in the line of its duty, in¬ 
cluding that of punishing offences not only against morality but against 
the conventional requirements of Roman custom. 

[ 278 ] 





PESCENNIUS NIGER 

































































« 














. 


























































































































































































































































































DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

His first important act was an index of the disasters to 
come. Emboldened by their recent successes, and also by 
the withdrawal of the frontier legions, many of which 
during the civil war precipitated by iEmilianus had been 
recalled to Italy, the barbarians were menacing the Em¬ 
pire as never before. With Persians in the east, Goths and 
Alemanni at the north, and Franks on the west, all eager 
to strike a deadly blow, it was apparent that one man, and 
he already past the prime of life, could ill sustain the 
weight of defending the Empire. A colleague was plainly 
advisable; but instead of selecting one of the many valiant 
and able generals who were available, self-love proved 
stronger than duty to the State, Valerian weakly choosing 
his own profligate son to defend the Empire with him. It 
was once more the case of Aurelius and Commodus, of 
Severus and Caracalla; and Valerian and Gallienus have 
passed into history as the virtuous, high-minded father, 
laboring for the welfare and dignity of the State, linked 
with the degenerate and vicious son, unconcernedly yawn¬ 
ing while the purple was being dragged through the mire. 

Turning over to his son the defence of the west, Va¬ 
lerian himself departed for the eastern frontiers, already 
being ravaged by Goths from the Lower Danube and by 
the Persians under Sapor, for nearly half a century one of 
Rome’s bitterest enemies. Greece was overrun by the 
former, while Sapor, first taking possession of Armenia 
and Mesopotamia, finally crossed the Euphrates and en¬ 
tered Syria. Valerian, who had enjoyed not one moment 
of rest or peace since the troops saluted him as “Master” 
of the Roman world, hastened to Antioch shortly after¬ 
wards, pushing Sapor back to the Euphrates, where upon 
the old battle-ground an encounter occurred. Worn out 
with the hardships of their protracted campaign, which had 
[ 279 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

made sad havoc among the legions, the' imperial troops 
were worsted. The situation was critical, and the old Em¬ 
peror accepted his adversary’s invitation to a personal 
meeting to arrange a peace. Accompanied only by a small 
guard, Valerian went to the appointed place, to find him¬ 
self suddenly surrounded by a body of Persian cavalry, 
who carried him off a prisoner. It was practically the end 
of his reign, as he was destined never again to set foot on 
Roman soil. Subjected by his barbaric conqueror to the 
most shameful ill-treatment and humiliation, the poor old 
Emperor lingered six years in captivity before death re¬ 
lieved his sufferings. There is a story that at the end he 
was actually flayed alive; at any rate his skin, tanned, 
stuffed, and colored red, was hung from the roof of the 
great Persian temple, where it is said to have remained 
several centuries. And in far-away Gaul, when the news of 
the Emperor’s death was received Gallienus nonchalantly 
remarked, “I knew that my father was mortal; besides he 
has fallen like a brave man”; and in lieu of an attempt to 
avenge him, the dead Emperor was accorded an apotheosis 
by his loving son. 

While one authority uses the word puer in referring to 
Gallienus, another makes him out thirty-five years of age 
at the time of his accession. In the estimation of Valerian, 
at least, he was young enough to need a preceptor, who 
was found in the person of a bold and skilful soldier named 
Postumus, under whose tutelage several campaigns were 
made by Gallienus, who, after some small successes upon 
the Rhine, assumed the title of Germanicus. In the fourth 
year of his reign the northern barbarians for the first time 
since the Cimbric invasion 1 succeeded in penetrating old 
Italy. After defeating the invaders in a few unimportant 

1 101 B. C. 


[ 280 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

engagements, Gallienus purchased peace by marrying a 
daughter of the German King. Displacing the Empress 
Salonina, who had exercised a salutary influence over her 
husband, 1 the fair-haired Pipa became the Emperor’s fa¬ 
vorite, inciting him, it is alleged, to much of his cruelty 
and shameful disregard of public duty. 

During the five years preceding the capture of Valerian 
(which occurred in the seventh year of his reign) the bar¬ 
baric races which encircled the Empire on the north and 
east had been closing in, and all that portion of the bor¬ 
der became a scene of constant turmoil, bloodshed, and 
confusion. Supported by the best of his father’s generals, 
Gallienus for a time made some show of opposition to the 
onslaughts of the barbarians; but, with an occasional ex¬ 
ception, he appeared practically oblivious of the constant 
assaults from within, which, more than the combined ef¬ 
forts of outside enemies, were sapping the strength and 
spirit of the State. During the reign of Gallienus (includ¬ 
ing the seven years in which father and son ruled jointly 
and the eight years succeeding the capture of Valerian), 
to the apparently concerted attacks of the barbarians and 
Persians were added the fierce contentions of no less than 
nineteen claimants to imperial power, every one of whom, 
with perhaps a single exception, perished by the sword. 2 

1 She is said to have induced him to proclaim an edict of toleration in 
favor of the Christians, his attitude towards whom seems to have been 
his solitary merit. 

2 The possible exception was Tetricus. Vide post, page 284. Including those 
sons of the usurpers whose respective fathers gave them the purple, it is 
said that twenty-nine Caesars or Augusti were murdered during the reign 
of Gallienus. It was not this fact, however, that prompted the early writ¬ 
ers to adopt the term of “The Thirty Tyrants” to designate the usurpers 
of this period, but rather some fanciful comparison between these pre¬ 
tenders and the Thirty Tyrants of Athens. 

[ 281 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

It is next to impossible to present a chronological state¬ 
ment of a reign so torn by faction and trampled by inva¬ 
sion; the whole period, as pointed out in Gibbon, being 
one uninterrupted series of confusion and calamity. And 
while most historians agree that these so-called “Thirty 
Tyrants” included only nineteen who were actually in¬ 
vested with the purple, there is a diversity in the nomen¬ 
clature of the pretenders, 1 for the reason probably that 
many of the usurpers barely flitted across the public stage, 
leaving a certain fact but an uncertain personality. 

(1) In the year 258, upon setting out for Rome from 
Gaul, where Postumus remained in command, instead of 
intrusting to the latter his son Saloninus, Gallienus left 
the young Caesar in the care of the tribune Silvanus at 
Cologne. Offended by the Emperor’s apparent distrust, 
Postumus appealed to the legions, with whom he was im¬ 
mensely popular, and who eagerly embraced his proposi¬ 
tion to march against Cologne. After a stout resistance 
the besieged city was taken, Saloninus and his protector 
were put to death, and the conqueror was proclaimed 
Augustus—Britain and Spain also taking the oath to him 
a little later. 

Like almost all of the provincial usurpers, Postumus was 
of low birth; but possessing both courage and the confi¬ 
dence of the Gallic provinces, where he was born and had 
always lived, the new Augustus maintained himself for 
ten years—withstanding even the imperial prestige when 
in the year 265 Gallienus undertook, without success, to 
avenge his son and recover Gaul. The Gallic Emperor 
was finally killed during a tumult caused by refusing his 
soldiers the pillage of Mayence, which had rebelled against 

1 Gibbon, for example, in presenting his list of names, cites a different 
one compiled by Captain Smyth in his Catalogue of Medals. 

[ 282 ] 



G ETA 








DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

his authority. With a single exception he was the most 
remarkable of the nineteen usurpers. 

(2) Upon the death of Postumus, Laslianus was invested 
with the Gallic purple, and according to his coins he won 
some notable victories over the Germans. He was, how¬ 
ever, soon murdered by his soldiers, angry at being com¬ 
pelled to labor in rebuilding the Rhine forts. 

(3) Two years before his death, Postumus had associated 
with himself an Italian general named Marcus Piavonius 
Victorinus, who had brought over several legions to the 
support of the Gallic Caesar. Allied to a rich and influen¬ 
tial family, and being very popular in Gaul, Victorinus 
became so firmly established that he appears to have in¬ 
spired Gallienus with a wholesome dread, and was allowed 
to rule his province without opposition from Rome. He, 
however, speedily paid the penalty of an evil life, having 
been assassinated at Cologne by one of his own officers 
whom he had greatly wronged. 1 Less than a year had 
elapsed since the death of his predecessor, whose murder 
Victorinus is said to have instigated. 

(4) Another competitor for the Gallic purple was a 
blacksmith named Marius, who came upon the scene just 
before the death of Victorinus. The “Augustan History” 
assigns to Marius the shortest reign in its annals, allowing 
him only three days of imperial grandeur; “on the first 
of which he was made Emperor, on the second he reigned, 
and on the third he was dethroned.” There is evidence, 
however, that Marius held the boards for three or four 
months. He is said to have been endowed with “match¬ 
less strength, intrepid courage, and blunt honesty.” But 
he perished at the hand of an old comrade whom he had 
slighted in his hour of dignity—struck down, it is said, by 

1 Coins of Victorinus are said to have been found in England. 

[ 283 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 
a blade which the murderer and his victim had one day 
forged together. 

(5) Upon the death of Victorinus, his mother, Victorina, 
who was a woman of masculine habit, took a hand at Em¬ 
peror-making, the Gallic legions at her instance proclaim¬ 
ing as Emperor Pius Esuvius Tetricus, who was a relative 
of Victorina. Tetricus had been a senator, but without 
military experience and of a retiring disposition he was 
unfitted for the stormy life upon which those who then 
adventured the purple were expected to embark. Tetricus 
therefore wisely retired to Bordeaux and there “ busied 
himself about nothing”; so that not being esteemed a 
dangerous character, he remained undisturbed during the 
remainder of the reign of Gallienus and the four years fol¬ 
lowing. After the death of Victorina, whose resolute soul 
had theretofore largely upheld him, the peaceful-minded 
Tetricus deliberately sought relief from his imperial func¬ 
tions. In the third year of the reign of Aurelian, he wrote 
begging that Emperor to deliver him “from the miscreant 
legions”; and when Aurelian came with his army Tetricus 
betrayed his own troops to the conqueror. Although led 
with Zenobia in Aurelian’s great triumph at Rome after 
the fall of Palmyra, Tetricus was afterwards admitted to 
the friendship of the Emperor, receiving from him the 
government of Lucania, while his son became a senator. 
Looking back upon the fate of his eighteen associates in 
imperial pretension, one imagines that Tetricus would re¬ 
quire little time to answer Aurelian s question: Whether 
it were not more desirable to administer a province in Italy 
than to reign beyond the Alps ? It is possible that he died 
a natural death. 

(6) After the captivity of Valerian the all-powerful Sapor 
selected as a candidate for the purple in the East an ob- 

[ 284 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

scure adventurer from Antioch named Cyriades, who was 
accordingly proclaimed by the cowed remnant of the im¬ 
perial army. It is not improbable that Cyriades purchased 
the favor of Sapor by an act of treachery; at all events, 
he straightway conducted the Persians to his native city, 
which was surprised and sacked by the invaders. After the 
fall of Antioch the Persians easily overran the adjoining 
countries, and before long the entire East trembled at the 
name of Valerian’s oppressor, whose conquests were marked 
by wanton and unrelenting cruelty. 

(7, 8) For a long time the triumphal march of the Per¬ 
sians was practically unopposed. The only two men in the 
East who were capable of defending the Empire were 
Macrianus, one of Valerian’s generals, and Balista, who 
had been the praetorian prefect, and being totally without 
assistance from Rome, they at first found it next to impos¬ 
sible to rouse the courage of the provinces. They, however, 
finally succeeded in collecting the scattered remnants of 
the Syrian army and were fortunately assisted at a critical 
moment by the Prince of Palmyra, who, after being in¬ 
sulted and threatened by Sapor, had decided to cast in his 
lot with the Romans; Odenathus also inducing a large 
band of Arabs from the southern deserts to enlist with 
him. The Persians, being now both outnumbered and par¬ 
tially surrounded, were forced to retreat, being finally 
thrust across the Euphrates with great slaughter and with 
not only the loss of their booty but—what was probably 
of far more importance to Sapor—with the capture of a 
large part of the Persian harem. Cyriades, the renegade 
Augustus, was taken and burned alive by the enraged 
Syrians; Balista and Macrianus assumed the purple, while 
Odenathus, to whom the credit of the Persians’ expulsion 
was largely due, contented himself with the title of King 
[ 285 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

bestowed by the Arabs, and the position of chief of the 
imperial forces in the East, conferred upon him by Gal- 
lienus. 

Macrianus was a soldier of fortune who had risen from 
the ranks to a high position both in the army and in the 
confidence of Valerian. But he lacked the essential quali¬ 
ties of a ruler; instead of restoring order and safety in 
the provinces and thus consolidating his power, he reck¬ 
lessly resolved to at once gain possession of the whole Em¬ 
pire; and with an army of only thirty thousand men, he 
set out for Europe. Warned doubtless by Odenathus, who 
was both prudent and loyal, Gallienus despatched his Em¬ 
peror-killer Aureolus 1 to intercept the Eastern usurper. 
The matter was easily accomplished; the forces of Mac¬ 
rianus were routed and their leader, with his son of the 
same name, put to death. 

(9) Upon his departure from the East, Macrianus had 
left, his son Quietus, who had also been proclaimed Au¬ 
gustus, and his colleague Balista to govern Asia. Upon 
news of the defeat of the Syrian army, Odenathus at once 
marched against Quietus, who shut himself up in Emesa, 
but was quickly overcome and suffered the usual fate; 
while Balista was shortly afterwards assassinated. 

(10) The confidence reposed in Odenathus was strength¬ 
ened materially by his services in the revolt of Macrianus 
and his colleagues, and two years later the Arab chief suc¬ 
ceeded to the purple by proclamation of Gallienus himself 
—probably the most popular act of his entire reign. Ode¬ 
nathus interests us both as the only one of the provincial 
Emperors whose personality attracts attention, and as the 
husband of the celebrated Zenobia. Not excepting Cleo¬ 
patra, from whom she traced her descent and whom she is 

1 See post, page 290. 


[ 286 ] 



CARACALLA 


















DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

said to have surpassed in beauty, as she certainly excelled 
her in morality and valor, the Queen of Palmyra is easily 
the most remarkable woman who has come down to us 
in Roman history. Combining the charms of beauty and 
femininity with a masculine ardor and understanding, 
highly educated and with a constitution inured to fatigue, 
thus enabling her to accompany Odenathus upon his cam¬ 
paigns, it is easy to believe that both the fortitude and in¬ 
spiration of the Palmyrian were drawn largely from his 
beautiful and devoted wife, who, in the language of an 
eminent historian, “soon became the friend and companion 
of a hero.” 

According to some writers Odenathus was a prince of 
the Saracens; other authorities merely accord him descent 
from a noble family in Palmyra. At all events, he was the 
chief person in the “City of Palms” at the time of Sapor’s 
invasion; and after their splendid victories over the “ Great 
King,” Odenathus and his illustrious consort found in 
every quarter a ready acquiescence in his designation as a 
colleague of Gallienus. But he was not long to enjoy the 
fruits of his reward from Rome. Returning from a success¬ 
ful expedition against some Gothic invaders of Asia Minor, 
he stopped near Emesa to engage in his favorite pastime 
of hunting, and was there assassinated by a nephew smart¬ 
ing under a justly administered rebuke from his uncle. His 
death occurred perhaps a year before that of Gallienus, 
and without awaiting authority from the latter, Zenobia 
herself assumed the government, which some years later 
she surrendered only to Aurelian in person. 1 

While the bloody purple was thus being tossed about 
in the East and the West, the other provinces were also 
indulging, although to a less extent, in the excitements of 

1 Post, page 298. 


[ 287 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

Empetor-making. In Illyria and Pannonia three of these 
sham rulers were set up and pulled down; while Thessaly 
and Achaia in Europe, Pontus and Isauria in Asia Minor, 
and Carthage and Egypt in Africa each furnished one. 

(11, 12) About the time that Macrianus was preparing 
to cross over into Europe, 1 the fever of unrest which was 
abroad had reached Achaia and Thessaly, and these prov¬ 
inces resolved to participate in the imperial foundations 
which had come into vogue. In the former the pro-consul, 
a talented general named Valens, was proclaimed Em¬ 
peror, while in Thessaly the purple was bestowed upon 
Calpurnius Piso, a man of the highest rank, belongiog to 
an illustrious family which from Augustus to Alexander 
Severus had furnished a consul in every generation—the 
only family, as Gibbon observes, which had survived the 
tyranny of the Caesars. But the moment was inopportune 
for Emperor-making in that part of the world; the prov¬ 
inces were poor, there were few troops, and on either side 
were the approaching forces of Gallienus and the Eastern 
usurper. Valens became suspicious of Piso, and the de¬ 
scendant of Numa 2 was assassinated by emissaries of the 
low-born Achaian, who, thinking to consolidate his power, 
assumed the name of Thessalicus. He was soon put out 
of the way by his own soldiers. 

(13) Of Saturninus, who was proclaimed in Pontus, be¬ 
yond the fact that he perished in the traditional manner, 
we know nothing except the remark he is said to have 
made to the soldiers who invested him: “Comrades, you 
lose a good general and create a worthless Emperor.” His 
philosophy doubtless prepared him for the inevitable stroke 
of the sword. 

(14) Trebellianus was another usurper who donned the 

1 Ante, page 286. 2 The Pisos claimed descent from Numa Pompilius. 

[ 288 ] 


DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

purple in Asia Minor. The province of Isauria, lying over 
against the Taurus Mountains, had never been fully civil¬ 
ized by Rome; and Trebellianus was chief of the robber 
mountaineers who had always existed, but whose depre¬ 
dations became more widespread under the present disor¬ 
ganization. He did not long escape the sword, at the hand 
of one of the Roman lieutenants. But his savage followers, 
having tasted again the sweets of independence, resolved 
to forever shake off the imperial yoke; and for centuries 
thereafter the Isaurians remained a nation of barbarian 
robbers and pirates. It was the one lasting change effected 
by the provincial usurpations. 

(15, 16) When Celsis was being proclaimed at Carthage, 
no purple mantle being available, the robe of the dea 
celestis was placed upon him; whereupon some of the by¬ 
standers, scandalized by such impiety, resolved to kill the 
new Augustus. The deed was accomplished by some of his 
own soldiers on the seventh day of his reign. His Egyptian 
colleague iEmilianus succumbed almost as quickly under 
an attack by Theodotus, who was in quest of wheat for 
Rome. The Nile Emperor was made prisoner and strangled 
in his dungeon. 

(17) In the same year that witnessed the elevation of 
Postumus the troops of Pannonia bestowed a similar 
honor upon their general Ingenuus, whose designation 
was enthusiastically ratified by the entire province. In¬ 
genuus was a skilful soldier who had won renown in the 
border warfare with the Goths and Sarmatians, and it was 
expected that like Postumus he would find no difficulty 
in upholding the imperial dignity of his warlike province. 
But for some reason the Emperor at Rome, ordinarily so 
indifferent to rival pretensions, took speedy note of the 
revolt on the Danube, and sent Aureolus, one of his best 
[ 289 ] 


THE HOUSE OF ChESAR 

lieutenants, to punish the usurper. Defeated in the first 
encounter, Ingenuus committed suicide, the victor, under 
an explicit order from his imperial master, inflicting a 
bloody punishment upon the unfortunate Pannonians. The 
order, which is still extant, may be quoted as illustrative 
of the occasional savageness displayed by Gallienus: “It is 
not enough that you exterminate such as have appeared 
in arms; the chance of battle might have served me as 
effectually. The male sex of every age must be extirpated; 
provided that in the execution of the children and old 
men you can contrive means to save our reputation. Let 
every one die who has dropped an expression, who has 
entertained a thought against me, against me , the son of 
Valerian. Remember that Ingenuus was made Emperor; 
tear, kill, and hew to pieces.” The soft cruelty of a Tibe¬ 
rius, the fierce egoism of a Nero, and the unrestrained 
savagery of a Caracalla are all found in this unrivalled 
mandate of Gallienus. 

(18) Nothing daunted by the fate of his predecessor, a 
Dacian named Regalianus (who claimed his descent from 
the celebrated Decebalus of Trajan’s reign), after gaining 
some military successes over the Sarmatians, accepted the 
imperial office from the army and the provincials, alike for¬ 
getful—or perhaps because of the retribution which had 
overtaken their last act of rebellion. He met the usual 
violent death, presumably in a revolt of his own people. 

(19) As a reward for carrying out his master’s orders 
against Ingenuus and the Pannonians, Aureolus received 
the government of Illyria. The overthrow of Macrianus 1 
increased his prestige, and after strengthening his power in 
every possible way, towards the end of the reign of Gal¬ 
lienus when the general disorder was at its climax, Aureo- 
1 Ante, page 286. 


[ 290 ] 



MACK IX US 


¥ 









DECLINE OF SPLENDOR 

lus accepted the title of Emperor from the army on the 
Upper Danube, and crossing the Alps marched rapidly to 
Milan, which he occupied as a base for his intended opera¬ 
tions against Rome itself. As long as the pretenders had 
contented themselves with provincial grandeur, Gallienus 
saw no reason to interfere with their ambition, which never 
in the slightest interfered with his personal pleasures and 
diversions. But when the standard of revolt was erected 
upon the sacred soil of Italy, even this imperial trifler was 
awakened from his habitual indolence; and wrenching 
himself from the luxurious life on the Tiber, the Emperor 
gathered together the Italian troops and marched towards 
the Po. The armies met about thirty miles from Milan, 
and after a stubborn conflict the invaders were defeated, 
Aureolus, who was severely wounded, barely escaping with 
his life to Milan, which was at once besieged by Gallienus. 
The usurper was indeed in sore straits, but it was not for 
him that the Parca^ were first preparing; it was the life- 
thread of the dissolute and careless son of Valerian which 
had unwound, and for which the shears were ready. Again 
the Roman purple was to be rent by a blow from behind. 
Disgusted at last with a master who inspired neither re¬ 
spect, nor love, nor fear, the praetorians decided to resume 
their time-honored trade. Late at night, while the Em¬ 
peror was still at table, the false alarm was raised that 
Aureolus was attacking in force, and Gallienus, rushing 
from his tent, was stabbed in the back by the assassins. 
Aureolus himself perished a little later when Milan sur¬ 
rendered to the next Emperor, by whom the Illyrian 
pretender was promptly executed. Thus of the nineteen 
individuals who during the reign of Gallienus had flaunted 
the purple in various parts of the Empire which most of 
them helped to drag through the mire, Tetricus was the 
[ 291 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

only one who lived to witness the investiture of a succes¬ 
sor to the Emperor they had pretended to dethrone. 

And yet in justice to the so-called “tyrants”—who as 
matter of fact merited the name far less than their self- 
seeking contemporary on the Tiber—it is to be remem¬ 
bered that for the most part they were men of ability and 
vigor, who wore the purple quite as legitimately as did 
Septimius Sever us at the outset of his career; failing to 
take their places among the legally enrolled Augusti (and 
thus becoming “usurpers”) merely from lack of a more 
permanent success. Some of them, without doubt, were 
proclaimed in anything but a spirit of rebellion; the simple 
fact being that the indolent pleasure-seeker in Italy aban¬ 
doned to their own resources his outlying provinces, which 
therefore quite naturally turned to some warlike chief to 
give them the government and protection withheld by 
Rome. Others seem to have had the purple forced upon 
them against their will by the restless soldiers and discon¬ 
tented provincials. But whatever may have been their char¬ 
acter or the circumstances of their elevation, or however 
genuine their willingness to serve the State, it was not in 
the nature of their ephemeral power to result other than 
disastrously to the Empire. And it was only when the last 
usurper was pulled down that the way was open for that 
revival of Roman splendor which, inaugurated by the two 
immediate successors of Gallienus, was to continue for 
nearly a century before the Empire of Augustus should 
begin its final decay. 


[ 292 ] 


CHAPTER III 
REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 
From Claudius II to Julian: 268-364 A. D. 
LAUDIUS II: 268-270 a. d. Marcus Aurelius Clau- 



dius was about fifty years of age when he succeeded 
to the Empire. After his family became famous an attempt 
was made to provide him with a high lineage, by declaring 
his descent from the Trojan Dardanus. But Claudius him¬ 
self was satisfied to be the child of his own works, which 
indeed entitle him to high rank among those who not only 
labored but accomplished for the State. 

Claudius had been a friend of both Decius and Valerian, 
each of whom held him in high esteem. For Gallienus the 
stern patriot could of course cherish nothing but contempt; 
but however he might applaud the latter’s death, the charge 
that he was a party to it is plainly unfounded. The prae¬ 
torians certainly never showed to better advantage than 
when they selected this patriotic, orderly, just-minded, and 
accomplished soldier to direct the State in the supreme 
effort which alone could restore its lost grandeur. After 
Gallienus received the mortal blow, he was said to have 
himself named Claudius as his successor. Whether he was 
capable of such an act of patriotism may be questioned; 
but the report at least served to smooth the way for 
Claudius to the purple, which was finally accorded him 
with universal acclamation. 

It was time that Rome had found a man willing and 
able to defend the Empire, whose enemies were swarming 
like grasshoppers on every side. In the servile address 
which the Senate presented him, the new Augustus was 


[ 293 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

importuned to “deliver himself from Tetricus and Zeno- 
bia”—as if these pretenders were the only enemies who 
were abroad; to which the Emperor nobly replied, “The 
matter of the usurpers concerns myself alone; that of the 
Goths is of importance to the State.” 

Fortunate indeed it was for the Empire that Gallienus, 
who thought always of himself and of the State not at all, 
had been replaced by a leader who was at least concerned 
for the State and himself. For never since the great Cim- 
bric invasion had Rome been in such danger from without, 
and a second Marius only could meet the emergency. 
Nearly half a million savage invaders who had “burned 
their ships behind them” were in motion, resolved to take 
permanent possession of the mild and sunny provinces of 
the south, which offered such a wide contrast to their own 
bleak and wind-swept countries. If the invaders had acted 
in unison, the Empire, sorely weakened by its self-inflicted 
wounds, might perhaps have been swept away. But the 
Alemanni , 1 too impatient to await their Sarmatian allies, 
all of whose ships were not yet completed, crossed the 
Alps alone. Although this invasion occurred only a few 
months after his accession, Claudius had already reformed 
the Italian army to a large measure of its old-time effec¬ 
tiveness and the Germans were completely routed. Elated 
by their victory, the imperial troops enthusiastically fol¬ 
lowed their intrepid leader to Illyria; and after crossing 
that province and Macedon by forced marches, approached 
the valley of the Margus, in Mcesia, where the main body 
of the Goths were operating, totally unaware of their 
enemy’s presence. But the dangers of the undertaking 
were great. “I must tell you the truth, Conscript Fathers,” 
Claudius wrote the Senate; “three hundred thousand bar- 

1 “Men of all races.” 


[ 294 ] 





ELAGABALUS 





t 





























REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

barians have invaded Roman territory. If I am successful 
you will acknowledge we have deserved well of our coun¬ 
try. If I am not victorious remember whom I follow. The 
State is exhausted and we fight after Valerian, after In- 
genuus, after Regalianus, after Lselianus, after Postumus, 
after Celsis, after many others who have been detached 
from the State on account of the contempt inspired by 
Gallienus. We are deficient in bucklers and swords and 
javelins. Tetricus is master of the Gallic and Spanish prov¬ 
inces, which are the strength of the Empire; and—I am 
ashamed to say it—our archers are all serving under 
Zenobia. Whatever little we may do, our successes will 
be as great as you have a right to expect.” 

It was an admirable statement of the situation, and 
overwhelmed Rome with both shame and apprehension. 
But the result far exceeded what might reasonably have 
been expected, from the modesty of the Emperor’s ex¬ 
pressions. Skilfully occupying a strong position directly 
between the two divisions of the immense Gothic host, 
Aurelian was at once despatched against the southern 
enemy, and when he returned successful, Claudius crossed 
the mountains and encountered the main body of the 
Goths at Naissus (Nissa). The conflict was long and san¬ 
guinary, but the victory finally was with the Romans. 
Fifty thousand of the barbarians were left upon the field 
of battle, the remainder taking refuge in the mountain 
fastnesses, where, after many had succumbed to famine 
and exposure, the wretched remnants were successively 
overtaken by Claudius and put to the sword. The Gothic 
host was actually annihilated. 

The message to the Senate in which Claudius announced 
his victory might well have served as a model for some 
of those “Homeric strophes from the field of battle,” as 
[ 295 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

Victor Hugo terms the bulletins of the Grand Army. 
“We have destroyed,” says Claudius, “a hundred and 
twenty thousand Goths and sunk two thousand vessels. 
The water of the river is concealed under the bucklers 
that it bears along with it, the banks under broken swords 
and lances, the fields under the bones of the dead. The 
roads are all choked with the enormous baggage the enemy 
has left behind.” 

The Empire went wild with joy; such a triumph for 
Roman arms had not been known in centuries. And might 
not this second Marius also be expected to prove himself 
“less great in having overcome the Cimbri than in having 
quelled in Rome the aristocracy of the nobility?” 1 But alas 
for Claudius; the hopes which he had inspired were to meet 
their full fruition only under the great general who came 
after him. In the flush of his triumph he contracted the 
plague which was ravaging the northern provinces, and 
died in the fifty-fourth year of his age and the third of his 
reign. High upon the scroll of Rome’s ablest defenders 
history has written the name of Claudius Gothicus, which 
was bestowed by a genuinely grateful Senate and peo¬ 
ple; while the army mourned its hero by at once com¬ 
plying with his dying wishes in proclaiming Aurelian as 
his successor. 

Quintillus—Aurelian: 270-275 a.d. When Claudius 
was setting out upon his campaign against the Goths, he 
had left his brother, M. Aurelius Quintillus, with a few 
legions at Aquileia, to guard that important gateway of 
Italy. 2 With the news of the Emperor’s death, the Aqui- 

1 Mirabeau. 

2 Aquileia was situated at the northern extremity of the Adriatic, about 
midway between Venice and the Julian (now the Carnic) Alps. 

[ 296 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

leian legions proclaimed Quintillus, who, being nearer 
Rome than Aurelian, was acknowledged by the Senate. 
Aurelian was on the Danube with the Emperor at the 
time of the latter’s death. Shortly afterwards he started 
for Rome, and upon learning of his approach to Aquileia, 
Quintillus opened his veins, according to the old fashion. 

L. Domitius Aurelianus was well fitted to take up the 
sword which his predecessor relinquished. He was born in 
Illyria, his father having been a freedman of the Senator 
Aurelius, while his mother was a priestess of the Sun, in 
the small Danubian village where they lived. Aurelian was 
a born fighter, and in some respects proved himself as 
great a general as the Empire ever produced. Severe in 
discipline, exacting for the service, of the strictest personal 
morality, which he also insisted upon in his soldiers, dis¬ 
dainful of pleasure, of unbounded energy, and apparently 
concerned alone for the glory of the State, the destruction 
of its enemies domestic and foreign, and the rehabilitation 
of the dignity and power of an undivided imperial office, 
his reign produced the same results which came from that 
of Septimius Severus, whom Aurelian in fact greatly re¬ 
sembled. The times were right for just such a character. 

Scarcely had the Emperor returned to Rome when the 
Juthungi and Vandals invaded Pannonia, where Claudius 
had been in waiting for them at the time of his death. 
Returning in all haste to the northern border, Aurelian 
first defeated the enemy and then cut their line of retreat 
to the Danube; when completely humiliated and promis¬ 
ing submission, they were finally allowed to return home. 
But after a few months the Vandals returned and although 
again victorious, Aurelian, hard pushed by a fresh invasion 
of Italy by the Alemanni, reluctantly purchased peace with 
the Vandals by ceding Dacia, the Danube thus becoming 
[ 297 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

the boundary for the first time since Trajan’s conquest. 
So that at last “the God Terminus” had fallen back. In 
the meantime the Germans had traversed Cisalpine Gaul 
with fire and sword, and it required all of the Emperor’s 
energy and courage to turn the tables and destroy the in¬ 
vaders. Almost immediately followed a formidable revolt 
at Rome, in which it is said seven thousand soldiers alone 
perished; and after punishing these home disturbers with 
his customary severity, the indefatigable Emperor set out 
for the East, where Zenobia yet maintained her imperial 
court. Arrived at Palmyra, he sent a message commanding 
the widow of Odenathus to recognize his sovereignty; to 
which the Queen haughtily replied, “No person has ever 
dared demand what your letter asks. You wish me to sur¬ 
render myself as if you did not know that Cleopatra pre¬ 
ferred to die rather than owe her life to a master.” Palmyra 
was strongly fortified and was stubbornly defended; but it 
was no upstart provincial who was now knocking at the 
gates, and in the end the city fell. Zenobia, flying upon 
her swiftest dromedary, was overtaken near the Euphrates 
and brought into the presence of the conqueror. “Why,” 
sternly demanded Aurelian, “do you insult the majesty 
of the Roman Emperor?” to which this daughter of the 
desert naively answered, “I acknowledge you as an Em¬ 
peror, since you are able to conquer; but the Gallieni, the 
Aureoli, and others like them were not Emperors.” 

Leaving a small garrison in the captured city, the Em¬ 
peror set out upon his return. Halfway across Thrace the 
news overtook him that the Saracens had revolted, had 
murdered the garrison and proclaimed one Antiochus as 
Emperor. Without an instant’s delay this man of iron 
determination raced back through Asia Minor, entered 
Palmyra like a whirlwind, and, as in the case of Caracalla 
[ 298 ] 



JULIA M^ESA 




REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

at Alexandria, although, of course, with greater provoca¬ 
tion. turned the city over to his troops. For three days 
the beautiful oasis of the Palms was plundered and partly 
burned: it never recovered from the blow and now lies 
buried beneath the sands of the desert. 

From the smoking ruins of Palmyra, Aurelian jour¬ 
neyed to Egypt, where his general. Probus, had been 
lighting it out with a sham Emperor named Firmus, who 
had been ‘‘proclaimed'’ by the inhabitants after the ex¬ 
pulsion of Zenobia's representatives. The Emperor made 
short work of this impostor, whose army was cut to pieces, 
he himself being crucified: and after establishing a strong 
Roman garrison, to overawe the populace, the imperial 
restorer returned to Europe leaving a tranquillized East 
behind him. Everything being in order at Rome, Aurelian 
at once set out against the last remaining rebel—the Gal¬ 
lic Emperor Tetricus. It was his easiest task , 1 and in the 
fourth year of his reign he journeyed once more to Rome 
and there celebrated one of the most magnificent of the 
three hundred and fifty triumphs which had hitherto been 
counted in the history of the Eternal City. Behind the 
chariot of the conqueror came Zenobia . 2 staggering be¬ 
neath the weight of three immense gold chains, and Tetri¬ 
cus and his son, “who walked clad in the scarlet cnlamys 3 
and wearing the Gallic brace ® 4 that the people might 

1 Ante, page 284. 

2 Aurelian bestowed upon Zenobia a handsome villa near that of Ha¬ 
drian. and here the beautiful Queen of the East passed the rest of her 
davs, her children marrying into the most illustrious Roman houses. The 
happy ending of Tetricus has been pointed out Ante, page 2S4. 

s The chi am vs was an oblong piece of cloth thrown over the left shoul¬ 
der. the open ends being fastened with clasps on the right shoulder. 

4 A loose garment resembling modern trousers, worn by Gauls and Asi¬ 
atics. 


[ 299 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 

recognize the Emperor of Gaul.” Well might the dazzled 
crowd believe the conqueror s proud boast that not an 
enemy remained within the boundaries of the Empire— 
united for the first time in twenty-one years under a 
single chief. 

There is a saying in the East that when the house is 
finished the workman dies: nothing is to be so much 
dreaded as a hope fulfilled. And thus it was with Aurelian, 
who had reached the acme of his accomplishment and 
glory. Directly after his memorable triumph, the great 
Emperor, whose energy and vigilance on behalf of the 
State were never deadened by accomplishment, set out 
upon an inspection tour of the Empire he had consoli¬ 
dated. He had travelled through Gaul, the Rhine country, 
and the Upper Danubian provinces when death overtook 
him. One of his secretaries, who had disobeyed his orders 
and knew that certain punishment would follow from a 
master who ruled his household with the same severity 
with which he governed the State, made out a list of 
names of persons who were known to be out of favor, 
including his own, and exhibited it as an order of death 
which he had discovered. To escape the fate which they 
believed impending, a conspiracy was formed by these per¬ 
sons and the Emperor assassinated. He had reigned five 
years and was sixty-one years of age. 

Tacitus—Florian: 275 a. d. After the first ebullition 
of their fury, in the course of which the murderers of 
Aurelian were torn to pieces (Menestheus, the chief con¬ 
spirator, being thrown to the wild beasts), the soldiers 
seem to have fallen into a veritable stupor; in a letter to 
the Senate the army declining to choose a successor 
to their beloved chief. To this unheard-of humility on the 
[ 300 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

part of the legions, the Conscript Fathers, themselves 
overcome by astonishment, replied by deifying the dead 
hero and remitting to his soldiers the selection of a suc¬ 
cessor. But for some reason the troops persisted in their 
refusal , 1 and after this strange spectacle of an Empire 
without a head had been prolonged six months, the Sen¬ 
ate proclaimed one of its oldest members, the consul Taci¬ 
tus, and the army quietly acquiesced. 

M. Claudius Tacitus was a native of Terni, in the prov¬ 
ince of Umbria, and had passed his long life in peaceful 
pursuits within the shadow of the capital city, accumu¬ 
lating an immense wealth, which somehow he had thus 
far managed to retain through all the vicissitudes of later 
years. Tacitus had strongly opposed the wish of his asso¬ 
ciates that he should become Emperor, pleading his age, 
—he was seventy-five,—his pacific tastes, his enfeebled 
health; and insisting that none but an active military 
genius could be expected to secure for the State the fruits 
of Aurelian’s victories. These objections were sound. But 
since a rescript of Gallienus had prohibited military ser¬ 
vice to those who sat in the curule chairs, no man of high 
standing in the army had accepted senatorial honors; and 
carried away by the delight of once more dominating the 
legions, the associates of Tacitus had childishly refused to 
choose an Emperor from among the able generals in the 
army, and insisted that one of their own number should 
properly don the purple. It is quite probable that in select¬ 
ing Tacitus the Senate realized that it would be the true 
ruler, with the feeble old man its mouthpiece only: “I 

1 It is quite possible that the generals themselves, realizing for once 
that it was easier for a dagger to pierce the purple chlamys than for the 
axe of a barbarian to cut through a breastplate, had influenced the 
legions in their decision. 


[ 301 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

shall rule with and through you,” Tacitus had said. The 
act was both puerile and in the end fatal to the aspirations 
of the Senate, the election of Tacitus having been not ex¬ 
travagantly termed the last political act of the Roman 
Republic. 

The new Emperor had barely time to accomplish the 
one thing for which posterity owes him its lasting grati¬ 
tude before the inevitable tragedy overtook him. Tracing 
his descent from the great historian “who ranks beyond 
dispute in the highest place among men of letters of all 
ages ,” 1 the Emperor caused the “Histories” and “Annals” 
to be placed in all the public libraries; and but for this 
act, as Duruy has pointed out, the tragic history of the 
Caesars might have been lost forever . 2 Upon the heels of 
this noteworthy deed and the enactment of some well- 
meaning but ineffectual statutes, came the news that the 
barbarians had again broken loose. Quickly appreciating 
the change that had occurred at Rome, the Alani and 
Goths had invaded Asia Minor; and thither painfully 
journeyed the poor old Emperor to show himself to the 
army. An immense donative to the troops caused them 
momentarily to overlook the contrast which they could 
not fail to draw between the enfeebled old civilian and 
the martial figure which had so recently filled their ho¬ 
rizon. But when a little later the pacific old man sent 
more of his gold to the barbarians themselves, it was too 
much for men who under Claudius and Aurelian had paid 
tribute with the sword. Once more the old disease broke 
out and at the hands of his soldiers Tacitus yielded up 
the purple robe which had been forced upon him barely 
six months before. 

When he became Emperor the sons of Tacitus were 

1 Encyc. Brit. Tit. Tacitus. 2 Hist. Rome, Vol. vii. chap, xcviii. 

[ 302 ] 



ALEXANDER SEVERUS 









REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

only boys, their father having married late in life, and he 
accordingly requested that his brother, M. Annius Floria- 
nus, be made consul. But the Conscript Fathers, jealous 
of their new-found power and averse to a step which 
might thereafter impair its free exercise by unduly digni¬ 
fying the new Emperor’s family, replied that the lists were 
full. Tacitus had thereupon appointed his brother praeto¬ 
rian prefect, and with the news of the Emperor’s death 
came that of Florian’s investiture by his soldiers. So that 
by refusing him the consulship and thus leaving him to 
find preferment through the army, the Senate had actually 
opened the door to that which they intended to bar out. 

But in naming Florian the troops had apparently pro¬ 
ceeded more from a desire to forestall action on the part 
of the Senate than from any personal regard for their 
commander, who, although an estimable character, was not 
one who would naturally be chosen as leader by soldiers 
in the field. The real candidate of the army was a general 
named Probus; and as soon as his consent to accept the 
purple had been obtained by the Syrian legions of which 
he was in command, the unfortunate Florian, after a reign 
of barely three months, exchanged his imperial robe for a 
shroud, bestowed by the same hands which had tendered 
him the purple. 

Probus: 276-282 a. d. M. Aurelius Probus was an¬ 
other of the famous Illyrian generals who rolled back the 
great waves of barbaric invasion which swept the frontier 
provinces during the last half of the third century. Al¬ 
though he claimed to be of Roman origin, Probus was a 
compatriot of Aurelian, having been born at Sirmium, not 
far from the little Danubian village where the boyhood 
of his great predecessor had been passed. His father, com- 
[ 303 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

mencing life as a peasant, finally became a tribune; and 
Probus had obtained the same rank at an unusually early 
age under Valerian, by whom the young soldier was highly 
esteemed. He fought with growing distinction through all 
the border wars, until at last as a special mark of favor 
the Emperor Aurelian intrusted him with the Tenth Le¬ 
gion, whose leaders, as he significantly reminded the young 
general, had usually become Emperors. He was in fact the 
only logical candidate for the purple when Aurelian died; 
which Tacitus himself acknowledged by writing him “The 
Senate has appointed me Emperor; but know this, that 
the greater part of the burden will rest upon your shoul¬ 
ders. We all know your worth and you will share with 
me the consulship of the coming year. Aid us then in our 
times of need.” 

By his first public acts after being saluted by the le¬ 
gions, Probus indicated that the measure of his abilities 
was not limited by military accomplishments. In a letter 
to the Senate he modestly declined to accept the title 
which his soldiers had conferred, until the Conscript Fa¬ 
thers should approve; and when informed of the acclama¬ 
tions with which he had been proclaimed at the Capitol, 
he despatched another message to the effect that hence¬ 
forth all imperial ordinances would be subject to the Sen¬ 
ate’s confirmation. The cup of the Fathers was now over¬ 
flowing—the restoration of senatorial authority seemed so 
complete; and the tactful Probus was thus assured of the 
active cooperation of the city as well as the army in the 
arduous undertakings which he had planned. 

After a brief stay in Rome, the Emperor proceeded to 
Gaul, where he drove out the Franks and Alemanni, who 
since the death of Aurelian had been devastating that 
province; and to prevent future incursions constructed a 
[ 304 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

massive wall, flanked by huge towers, from the Danube 
to the Rhine. He thence passed along the entire Danu- 
bian frontier, destroying many scattered bands of barba¬ 
rians who had been terrorizing the northern provinces— 
among them a fierce German tribe called Lygians, which 
he absolutely obliterated . 1 From Thrace he journeyed to 
Asia Minor, with sword still in hand, and finally returned 
to Rome by way of Egypt, thus completing one of those 
frontier inspections which Severus and Aurelian had con¬ 
sidered a sine qua non to the maintenance as well of in¬ 
ternal order as efficient defence. 

The suppression of some revolts in Britain, Gaul, and 
Egypt left the Empire entirely tranquillized; and the Em¬ 
peror was at last free to devote his energies to his long- 
planned work of building up those provinces which had 
suffered the most seriously in the wars and insurrections 
of the past forty years. In Thrace, which was almost com¬ 
pletely devastated, he colonized one hundred thousand 
Germans called Bastarnas, who were seemingly glad in 
this way to escape the uncertainties of their nomadic life; 
in certain parts of Gaul which fire and sword had turned 
into a desert, he inaugurated the planting of vineyards, 
some of which are said to be still existing; while every¬ 
where he engaged in the most extensive public works 
tending to the physical improvement of the Empire. 

But Probus was too good for Rome. And in the midst 
of his labors for the restoration of that which he had so 
largely aided in staying from collapse, death overtook the 
valiant general, at the very prime of his hopes and ener¬ 
gies. Unwilling that the immense army should continue a 
dead weight upon the State, during the interim of war he 

1 The Lygii, who lived between the Oder and the Vistula, never again 
appeared in history. 


[ 305 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

had largely employed the soldiery in the building of roads 
and canals. Unlike their general, the legionaries were un¬ 
willing to change the sword for the pickaxe; and enraged 
at being compelled to toil in the heat of a summer day, 
they mutinied, attacked the Emperor in a tower from 
whence he was superintending the work, and put him to 
death. He was mourned by all classes, including even his 
murderers, who are said to have wept over his body. Pro¬ 
bus was fifty years old and had reigned six years. 

Carus: 282-283 a. d. Upon the death of Probus an¬ 
other Illyrian succeeded to the purple in the person of 
Marcus Aurelius Carus, who was proclaimed by the army, 
the Conscript Fathers being entirely ignored in the trans¬ 
action. Carus was an able general as well as a man of 
rank, having filled many high offices, including that of 
pro-consul. He had been a favorite of the late Emperor, 
whose murderers received no mercy from the man who 
had profited by a crime in which he had no part. 

At the news of the death of Probus, who had so effectu¬ 
ally cowed the northern hordes, the latter again set their 
faces towards the south, and Upper Pannonia was once 
more overrun. Leaving his son Carinus in charge of the 
West, Carus set out from Rome with a formidable army, 
and speedily convinced the invading Quadi that Rome’s 
present defender was a worthy successor to Aurelian and 
Probus, whose names had become a byword of fear to all 
the savage tribes. After soundly punishing the marauders 
and restoring order in the province, Carus determined to 
carry out the project which Probus is said to have formed 
of conquering Persia. At the head of a vast army he 
traversed Illyria and Thrace, and passing swiftly through 
Asia Minor, crossed the Tigris and captured Ctesiphon— 
[ 306 ] 



SARCOPHAGUS OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS AND MAMJEA 










REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

beyond which it had been foretold that no Roman Em¬ 
peror could go. The saying proved a convenient prophecy 
for the army, who began to find the forced marches and 
fierce Eastern sun quite as irksome as the ditch-digging of 
Probus; indeed it is supposed that in this case the soldiers 
were themselves the oracle. However this may have been, 
the news one day came to Rome that while Carus was 
resting in his tent during a storm he had instantly been 
killed by a “flash of lightning,” which also set fire to the 
tent, the dead body of the Emperor being entirely con¬ 
sumed. It is impossible to deny that this may have been 
true; and lightning or praetorian steel, it was all one to 
Carus, dead at Ctesiphon after a reign of fifteen months. 

Carinus—Numerianus: 283-285 a. d. Numerianus, 
the younger son of Carus, had accompanied his father to 
Persia; and after the fulfilment of the oracle, Numerianus 
received the title of Augustus from the army. Carinus, 
who was at Rome, also assumed the purple—which in¬ 
deed had practically been accorded him during his father’s 
lifetime. 

The transition from Carus to Numerianus was quite as 
abrupt as was the succession of the aged and scholarly 
Tacitus to the vigorous and warlike Aurelian. Numerianus 
had a delicate constitution and was of shy and retiring dis¬ 
position. Utterly wanting in military instinct, he was only 
too glad to intrust the conduct of the army to his father- 
in-law, the praetorian prefect Aper, who hastened to lead 
the willing soldiers back into Roman territory, after re¬ 
gaining which they slowly journeyed towards Europe. The 
young Emperor, who was suffering from an affection of 
the eyes, travelled in a closed litter and was rarely visible 
even when the army was at rest. Just as the European 
[ 307 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

frontier was reached a rumor was circulated that Numeria- 
nus was dead; and the guards, rushing to the imperial 
tent, found that for several days they had been carrying 
the mortal remains of their unfortunate young ruler. 

Suspicion naturally rested on Aper, who had not re¬ 
vealed his son-in-law’s death, of which he must necessarily 
have been aware. The prefect was seized and led in chains 
before a tribunal of generals organized to try the prisoner 
who was accused by the army. Among the judges was a 
young general named Diodes, who as commander of the 
bodyguard must have known what was taking place in his 
imperial master’s tent. Selected by his associates to pre¬ 
side, he permitted no time to be wasted in proving what 
every one believed. First volunteering an oath that he 
himself neither was concerned in the murder nor desired 
imperial honors, Diodes then turned to Aper and shout¬ 
ing in a loud voice, “This man is the assassin,” sheathed 
his sword in the prefect’s breast. How like a modern mur¬ 
der trial—this “justice of Diocletian!” And yet perhaps in 
the long run quite as much real justice and not less mercy 
than results in some of these later-day causes celebres. 

Carinus in the meanwhile had been playing the parts of 
Domitian and Elagabalus at Rome, which was now long¬ 
ing for a deliverer. The elder son of Carus had ingratiated 
himself with the populace by declaring that the wealth of 
the aristocracy belonged to them as being the true Roman 
people. Fifteen hundred years later this doctrine bore 
bloody fruit in France; but in the third century of the 
Empire it was naturally very shocking to the Conscript 
Fathers, by whom its author was accordingly detested 
quite as much as he was hated by the soldiers on account 
of his cruelty and despised by the best citizens because of 
his sensuality. But for all his love of pleasure, Carinus was 
[ 308 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

a good fighter and had won some notable victories over 
the barbarians during the year of his father’s campaign 
in the East. At his back were the tried legions of Italy 
and the West, before whom the Asiatic army had rarely 
been able to stand. So that when Diodes came marching 
over from the East with all his forces, his task proved 
anything but easy. Carinus was successful in some pre¬ 
liminary skirmishes along the Danube and in southern 
Germany, and finally won a decisive battle over his East¬ 
ern competitor at Margus in Upper Mcesia. But the force 
of events was against the profligate son of Carus, and in 
the hour of victory he was murdered by one of his own 
officers whom the Emperor had greatly wronged—the 
assassin having the hearty support of the soldiers of Italy, 
who hailed the defeated conqueror as the deliverer of Rome. 
Carinus had reigned only a month longer than his father. 

Diocletian—Maximian: 285-305 a. d. Marcus Aure¬ 
lius Valerius Diocletianus, as his name appears in the in¬ 
scriptions, was only thirty-nine years of age at the time 
of his accession. His parents had been slaves in the house 
of a Roman senator, and it was from the obscure Dalma¬ 
tian village of Dioclea from whence his mother came, that 
he acquired his original name of Docles, which he himself 
“first lengthened to the Grecian harmony of Diodes, and 
afterwards to the Roman majesty of Diocletianus.” 

Entering the service at an early age, Diocletian had won 
the rapid advancement which in those stormy days was the 
sure reward of personal courage and ability, having passed 
through all the higher grades in the army at the time he 
was selected to assume the purple which had fallen from 
the murdered son of Carus. And now from this offspring 
of the lowest class in Roman society, the spirit of the gov- 
[ 309 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CESAR 

ernment was to receive as profound an impression as that 
which had been created by the imperial institutions of the 
first Augustus, whose fundamental idea of military des¬ 
potism, after enduring three centuries, at last gave way to 
the Diocletian idea of military partition. 

Since the death of Gallienus, who had come perilously 
near destroying the inheritance of Augustus, it had been 
the Empire’s good fortune to enjoy a succession of able 
military chiefs as its rulers. But even the matchless cour¬ 
age, ability, and energy of Claudius, Aurelian, and Probus 
had sufficed merely to keep in momentary check the count¬ 
less foes of the State, whose aggressiveness gradually re¬ 
vived as the warlike spirit tapered off under Carus, Cari- 
nus, and Numerianus. The new Emperor, while a man of 
great native ability both as a soldier and statesman, was 
lacking in those extraordinary gifts of military and ad¬ 
ministrative energy which had enabled his two great pre¬ 
decessors to cope single-handed with all the swarming 
enemies of the State and at the same time maintain a 
firm control of its internal affairs. But he possessed in 
a high measure one great gift of all really great men,—a 
perfect self-mastery based upon a thorough self-knowledge. 
Thus wisely appreciating that the task was beyond his 
single power, he conceived the idea of organizing a vigor¬ 
ous defensive by a division of the power and consequent 
sharing of the responsibilities which attached to the impe¬ 
rial office. Selecting first an associate who was proclaimed 
Augustus with authority equalling his own, each of the 
Augusti then chose for himself an assistant (and future 
successor), who was proclaimed Caesar, with the tribuni- 
tian power and the military imperium ; 1 whereupon the 

1 See Eusebius’s Life of Constantine for a dissertation on the office of 
Caesar, under the system of Diocletian. 

[ 310 ] 


MAXIM IN 


I 









REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

Empire was apportioned among the four, who ruled—or 
at least were supposed to rule—“all for one and one for 
aU.” 

Such, in brief, was the so-called system of Diocletian, as 
it was finally perfected. But at the outset its founder per¬ 
haps contemplated only a division of the Empire into 
halves, which, based upon natural and geographical lines, 
would become Greek in the East and Latin in the West. 
At any rate, it was only after Maximian and himself had 
struggled seven weary years in defence of the State that 
Diocletian saw fit to complete his political system by 
creating the two additional subdivisions and their rulers. 
From which it is not unreasonable to conclude that the 
“system” was stretched to meet the increasing dangers of 
the State. 

Maximian, who became the Emperor’s first colleague, 
was peasant-born, a native of Sirmium, which, having 
already supplied the Empire with two rulers, was now to 
present it with two more. Maximian was a good soldier, 
but outside of his fighting power was without ability, 
being utterly ignorant of letters and in appearance and 
manners always displaying the meanness of his birth and 
coarseness of his nature. He was not even a great general, 
his victories proceeding rather from brute force and cour¬ 
age than military strategy and dispositions. Rough and 
brutal as he was, he never failed to recognize the superi¬ 
ority of his imperial patron, who held him in easy check 
as long as he himself remained at the helm. Of the two 
Caesars, Galerius, who had commenced life as a herdsman, 
was a native of the same territory as Maximian, whom he 
so much resembled in character and manners that he was 
not infrequently spoken of as the younger Maximian. The 
other assistant, Flavius Constantius, surnamed Chlorus 
[ 311 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

from his pallid complexion, was a collateral relative of 
Claudius Gothicus, his mother having been that Emperor’s 
niece, and his father a Dalmatian noble. Constantius was 
a trained and successful soldier, but the pursuits of war 
seem never to have destroyed his mild and amiable dispo¬ 
sition, and in addition to the lasting devotion of his legions 
he enjoyed an extreme popularity among the provincials 
whom he governed. 

Diocletian had selected his associates from the stand¬ 
point alone of defensive strength; and to cement as far 
as possible a union of such otherwise dissonant elements, 
the two Caesars were compelled to divorce their respective 
Wives and marry the daughters of the Augusti. Galerius 
took Valeria, the daughter of Diocletian, while Theodora, 
the daughter of Maximian, fell to Constantius. The rulers 
being thus finally installed, the State was parcelled out 
among them and their respective imperial centres estab¬ 
lished. Gaul, Spain, and Britain were intrusted to Con¬ 
stantius, with Treves and York as his alternating capitals; 
Galerius received the Illyrian provinces, with headquarters 
at Sirmium on the Danube; Italy and Africa fell to Max¬ 
imian, who was stationed at Milan; while Diocletian took 
all the rest, extending from Thrace to the eastern boun¬ 
dary, with Nikomedeia , 1 about midway between the Dan¬ 
ube and the Euphrates, as his imperial city. Four armies 
and four courts now sustained the dignity and power of 
as many rulers, each sovereign within his own jurisdiction 
but (presumably) united for the integrity and glory of the 
State. All this in its practical workings was entirely sub¬ 
versive of the foundation of Augustus, which although in 
fact lodging the power in a single ruler at least theoreti¬ 
cally left the State under the guidance and control of the 

1 Nikomedeia was the ancient capital of Bithynia. 

[ 312 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

Senate, with the chief centre of the Empire in the ancient 
city—itself the “Umbilicus of the World .” 1 From this 
time on Rome was to be practically abandoned by its 
rulers, who, with their various courts at the four ends of 
the Roman world, no longer recognized even the form of 
ruling in conjunction with the Conscript Fathers, whose 
authority, apparent and real, thus vanished forever. And 
while it is readily apparent that a partition of the Empire 
among rulers whose powers were so undefined could not 
result in any lasting union, it is probable that at the mo¬ 
ment Diocletian’s idea furnished the only possible method 
of postponing the downfall of a structure whose founda¬ 
tions had been sapped beyond repair. 

During the first fifteen years of the Tetrarchy, the 
flames of both foreign and civil war traversed the Empire 
from end to end. For Constantius in Gaul and Britain, 
Galerius on the Danube, Maximian in Africa, Diocletian 
in Persia, it was one continuous struggle against invasion 
and rebellion. But with the victory of Diocletian over the 
Persians came a period of rest, permitting the Augusti to 
celebrate a triumph at Rome—memorable as the last great 
triumph observed by the proud mistress of the world, 
whose Emperors soon ceased to vanquish, itself ceasing 
to be the capital of the Empire. 

The occasion of this triumph is said to have been Dio¬ 
cletian’s first visit to Rome; and before the close of the 
festivities he left it in disgust, and in the early part of 
an extremely cold winter journeyed back to his Eastern 
capital. He fell desperately ill on the way, and upon his 
recovery—perhaps as a thank-offering—issued his famous 
edicts against the Christians, great numbers of whom per- 

1 The so-called "Umbilicus” was situated near the rostra in the Roman 
Forum, where its site is yet pointed out. 

[ 313 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

ished throughout the Empire, Constantius alone protect¬ 
ing them to some extent in Gaul. 

At the time Maximian was elevated to the purple, it 
had been stipulated that he should abdicate whenever Dio¬ 
cletian should do so. The great Roman triumph and the 
persecution of the Christians occurred in the twentieth 
year of their reign, and at the end of that year Diocletian 
decided that the time had come to lay aside the purple. 
His strength, he said, was decreasing and repose was need¬ 
ful after so many labors. On the first of May, 305, Max¬ 
imian 1 at Milan proclaimed as Cassar one of his generals 
named Severus, while on the same day at Nikomedeia the 
senior Augustus laid his mantle upon a nephew of Gale- 
rius named Maximin Daza, and “Diodes” once more, he 
quitted the scene of his power forever. Upon the Dalma¬ 
tian coast on the Adriatic, he had prepared a magnificent 
palace, covering a space of more than eight acres. 2 Here 
the old Emperor lived in seclusion for a period of eight or 
nine years. His life was embittered towards the end by the 
sufferings and death of his wife and daughter at the hands 
of his successors; 3 other than which he lived in compara¬ 
tive peace and happiness. To an appeal of his former col¬ 
league Maximian that he should reassume the purple, he 
philosophically replied, “If you could see the cabbages I 
am raising, you would not ask me to abandon my happiness 
for the pursuit of power! ” Sensibly persisting in his retire¬ 
ment, he died peacefully in his bed in the sixty-ninth year 
of his age, and was decreed an apotheosis by direction of 
Constantine, who speaks of him as “our lord and father”; 

1 For the future life and death of Maximian, see post, pages 317 to 320. 

2 The site of this palace is now occupied by the little town of Spalato, 
which was largely erected from the materials of its forerunner. 

3 See post, page 324. 


[ 314 ] 



GOllDIAN I 



























































































































































































* 


































REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

while an inscription of the time calls him “the father of 
the Emperors.” All this was very distasteful to the Chris¬ 
tians, by whom were circulated various reports that the 
Emperor, after a wretched old age, died by either poison 
or voluntary starvation, and that his statues were over¬ 
thrown and his memory execrated by Constantine; all of 
these misfortunes, including the miseries of the Empress 
Prisca and her daughter, being of course attributed to the 
divine retribution. 

Twelve centuries later the vengeance of the oppressed 
Christians worked itself out in a more poetical way. At 
Rome the name of Diocletian will always be associated 
with the magnificent Thermae, 1 which were completed in 
the year of his abdication, tradition ascribing the execution 
of the work to condemned Christians. From the windows 
of a great modern hotel, with all of its twentieth-century 
luxuries, one looks out to-day upon the low, quaint en¬ 
trance to the Church of S. Maria degli Angeli, the Tepi- 
darium of seventeen centuries ago, which about the year 
1560 was converted into a Carthusian convent by Pope 
Pius IV at the hands of Michael Angelo. 2 

Diocletian to Constantine: 305-324 a.d. During the 
twenty years which immediately followed the abdication 
of Diocletian, Rome was under the sway of eight Em¬ 
perors, not one of whom was momentarily supreme; while 
on two occasions no less than six men were both exercis¬ 
ing imperial functions and acknowledged throughout the 

1 The Baths of Diocletian are said to have been twice as large in circum¬ 
ference as those of Caracalla. See ante , page 255, Note 2. 

2 The church was consecrated August 5, 1561. Most of the remaining 
parts of the Thermae are preserved and occupied for charitable, religious, 
and educational purposes. 


[ 315 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

State as Augusti. Pretenders were also flourishing in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the Roman world, so that for a while con¬ 
ditions resembled somewhat those which obtained during 
the reign of Gallienus and the Thirty Tyrants. But the in¬ 
evitable jealousies and clashings incident to such a division 
of power gradually cleared the way for a consolidation of 
the Empire under the strong arm and master mind of Con¬ 
stantine, who emerged at last as the sole survivor of this 
double decade of imperial contention and strife, in which, 
with the exception of his father Constantius, all of his 
seven competitors miserably perished. The eight Emperors 
who bridged the period from Diocletian to Constantine 
were as follows: 

Constantius Chlorus : proclaimed 305, died 306. 

Galerius: proclaimed 305, died 311. 

Maximin Daza: proclaimed 305, died 313. 

Severus : proclaimed 305, died 307. 

Constantine : proclaimed 306, became sole Emperor 324. 

Maxentius: proclaimed 306, died 312. 

Maximian : proclaimed (the second time) 306, died 310. 

Licinius : proclaimed 307, died 324. 

When Diocletian and Maximian laid aside the pur¬ 
ple, Constantius remained in charge of Gaul, Spain, and 
Britain, which had been his from the beginning, Galerius 
likewise retaining his Danubian provinces, to which were 
added a large part of eastern Europe formerly controlled 
by Diocletian; while of the new Cassars, Maximin received 
Egypt and Syria, Severus Africa and Italy. At Nikome- 
deia with Galerius was a handsome vigorous youth, who 
had been held by Diocletian as a sort of hostage. He was a 
son of Constantius, who had frequently begged the former 
Emperor that the young man might be allowed to join 

[ 316 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

him in the \Vest; to all which entreaties Diocletian had in¬ 
variably turned a deaf ear. Constantius was now in feeble 
health, and in response to his urgent appeal the young 
Constantine by a bold stratagem escaped from Galerius 
and made his way by forced marches to Gaul. Constantius 
was barely able to muster enough strength to accompany 
him to Britain, where father and son were received by 
the army with acclamations. The Emperor did not long 
survive this journey, and a few days after his death , 1 in 
the city of York (Eboracum), Constantine was proclaimed 
Augustus by his father’s devoted legions. 

The idea of hereditary succession was directly opposed 
to the principles of Diocletian’s system; and the senior Au¬ 
gustus—having no sons of his own—was at first greatly 
enraged by the news from Britain. But the offenders were 
too far away—and too powerful; so that Galerius finally 
accepted the situation, merely relegating Constantine from 
the rank of Augustus to the fourth place; Severus being 
raised to the second place, with the title of Augustus, 
Maximin remaining the first Caesar. Constantine had the 
good sense to acquiesce, and for a while everything moved 
smoothly, under the reestablished tetrarchy. But a storm 
was brewing at Rome—out of patience with a set of rulers 
who seemed to scorn the Imperial City, which, shorn of its 
importance, its authority, and its grandeur, was already 
fast becoming merely a stopping-place in the journeys 
from one provincial palace to another. Rome clamored for 
an Emperor of its own and found one ready made at hand 
in the person of Maxentius, the son of the old Emperor 
Maximian, and the son-in-law of Galerius. Under cover 
of an obnoxious tax measure, a riot broke out, Maxentius 
was proclaimed Augustus, and Maximian, recalled from his 
1 In July, 306. 


[ 317 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

retirement, was also persuaded to accept the purple from 
the Senate, the people, and the soldiers. So that now there 
were six Emperors instead of four, and Rome went wild 
with joy—a sure earnest of sorrows to come. 

Italy was supposed to be under the special direction of 
Severus, who was accordingly at once instructed by Gale- 
rius to put down the Roman usurpers. He arrived before 
the Imperial City with a large army; but before a blow 
was struck the troops went over to Maxentius in a body, 
Severus barely escaping to Ravenna, from whence he soon 
surrendered to Maxentius. He was taken to Rome, and 
there imprisoned in a villa on the Appian Way; and after 
having been induced to resign the purple (which ought 
never to have been bestowed upon him) by Maxentius, 
who promised solemnly that his life should be spared, the 
hapless prisoner was ordered to commit suicide, which he 
did by opening his veins. 

Maxentius and his father were now masters of Italy, 
and the situation was serious enough to compel the per¬ 
sonal attention of Galerius. He came down from Illyria 
with a powerful army and forced his way to within sixty 
miles of Rome—the nearest he had ever been to his Im¬ 
perial City. But his adversaries were active and had the 
united support of the Italian troops and people, to whom 
this unknown Eastern Emperor was merely an invader. So 
that in the end Galerius, fearful that Constantine, in league 
with the Roman Augusti, might attempt to intercept his 
retreat, abandoned his attempt and retired in hot haste, 
burning and ravaging the Italian provinces as he went. 

Upon setting out to chastise the Roman usurpers the 
Eastern Augustus had intrusted to his friend Licinius 
the defence of the Danube. Licinius had been an old com¬ 
rade in arms of Galerius, and like the Emperor was the son 

[ 318 ] 



I 


GORDIAN II 









REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

of a peasant, although he claimed to be descended from 
the Emperor Philip. He had long been destined to succeed 
Galerius, and immediately upon the latter’s return from 
the unsuccessful Italian expedition, Licinius was pro¬ 
claimed Augustus and received Illyria as his share of the 
government. The Empire was now divided into two great 
hostile powers; Maximian, his son Maxentius, and his son- 
in-law Constantine controlling the West, while Galerius, 
his nephew Maximin, and his comrade Licinius ruled the 
East. The system of Diocletian was utterly destroyed, and 
with it had vanished all semblance of harmony in the Em¬ 
pire. While the two great forces of which Constantine and 
Galerius were the exponents were contending for suprem¬ 
acy, the various elements in each were struggling among 
themselves. Scarcely had Galerius withdrawn from Italy, 
thereby practically sanctioning the Roman Augusti, before 
Maximian and his son had a serious quarrel; and the fiery 
old man, deprived of what he considered his due share of 
power, betook himself to the Court of Constantine. Soon 
after his arrival he formally resigned the purple; and hav¬ 
ing thus disarmed possible suspicion, he commenced to 
plot the overthrow of his son-in-law. Taking advantage of 
the latter’s absence in repulsing an invasion of the Franks, 
he seized and distributed among the soldiers the imperial 
treasure, and having spread a false report of Constantine’s 
death, caused himself to be once more proclaimed Augus¬ 
tus. But Constantine, returning by forced marches from the 
Rhine, drove his traitorous father-in-law into Marseilles 
and was preparing to carry the city by assault when the 
gates were opened and the usurper given up by the sol¬ 
diers. Deprived of his imperial honors, Maximian lived a 
while in seeming humility at the Court of his son-in-law, 
but finally tempted Fate once more by engaging in a fresh 
[ 319 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

plot. The forbearance of Constantine was exhausted, Max- 
imian was condemned to be executed, but allowed, like 
Severus, to choose the instrument of his death; and in the 
year 310 the turbulent spirit of the old warrior, who had 
enjoyed the unique distinction of having been three times 
invested with the purple, was forever stilled by the cus¬ 
tomary method of self-destruction. 

After the unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Roman 
Augusti, Galerius seems to have given up his former pro¬ 
jects for universal Empire, and relying upon Licinius as 
a bulwark against the possible ambitions of Maxentius, the 
elder Augustus devoted himself to a life of pleasure in his 
Eastern city of Nikomedeia. He survived Maximian barely 
a year, and a month before his death performed the best 
act of his reign,—the issuance of an edict of toleration, 
thus ending the era of the martyrs which Diocletian and 
himself had inaugurated. His death was occasioned by a 
terrible disease, the repulsive details of which are related 
by the ancient writers with undisguised pleasure. To the 
persecuted Christians it was the divine retribution—un¬ 
tempered by the tyrant’s display of eleventh-hour mercy. 

The dominions of Galerius were shared between Maxi- 
min and Licinius, Asia falling to the former, who already 
had the far East, while Licinius acquired the European 
provinces. But the crafty and far-sighted Constantine, who 
now began to see his opening, took advantage of the op¬ 
portunity to break up the old combination of forces, by 
forming a secret alliance with Licinius; whereupon Max¬ 
entius in Italy and Maximin in Syria threw in their lots 
together. It was once more a tetrarchy, but lacking in 
that essential cohesiveness which could result only from 
harmony among the rulers held in check by one master 
mind, as in the case of Diocletian’s government. 

[ 320 ] 



( 






BALBIXUS 





















































































































































' 


























































































REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

During the greater part of the time which had elapsed 
since Rome had given way to such unbounded joy upon 
the acquisition of a resident Augustus in the person of 
Maxentius, that Emperor had conducted himself in a way 
to arouse the bitterest hostility and detestation of his sub¬ 
jects. By nature cruel, rapacious, and licentious, it needed 
only the defeat of Severus and the banishment of Maxim- 
ian to bring into action all the vicious instincts which until 
his power had become thus firmly established Maxentius 
had wisely kept in check. In the abominable pursuits to 
which his life was thereafter abandoned, he displayed him¬ 
self a veritable tyrant. The noblest Romans were robbed 
of their goods, despoiled of their wives and daughters, and 
deprived of their lives at the whim of the dissolute and 
evil-minded young ruler, who had protected himself from 
their resentment by filling the city with armed troops 
whose devotion was secured both by immense largesses 
and immunity to plunder and massacre the defenceless 
people. No wonder an appeal went out to Constantine to 
relieve Italy of this incarnated Domitian. 

The self-poised Gallic Emperor at first refused to inter¬ 
fere ; but when Maxentius, affecting a filial anger at the 
death of the father he had himself driven away, destroyed 
the statues of Constantine, erased his titles from the pub¬ 
lic monuments, and announced his intention of invading 
Gaul and possessing himself of the Western Empire, the 
son of Chlorus knew that the hour which he had been 
awaiting had struck. Disregarding the timid counsels of 
his generals, Constantine selected from his total available 
forces of one hundred thousand men, about forty thousand 
of his best-seasoned troops; and leaving the remainder to 
guard the Rhine, he crossed the Alps by way of Mont 
Cenis so expeditiously that his little army was deployed 
[ 321 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

upon the plains of Piedmont before Rome even learned 
of his departure from Gaul. The fortified city of Susa was 
quickly taken by assault, and about forty miles further on 
the Gallic Emperor won a brilliant victory over a large 
Italian army under the lieutenants of Maxentius, which 
resulted in the capture of Turin and Milan. From the lat¬ 
ter city he marched northward to intercept a powerful 
force which Maxentius had despatched under his general, 
Pomponius, to guard against an expected invasion of 
Licinius by way of Aquileia; and at Verona Constantine 
gained a still more brilliant victory over an army which in 
numbers greatly exceeded his own. 

Maxentius in the meanwhile had remained unconcern¬ 
edly at Rome, immersed as usual in the degrading plea¬ 
sures which formed the round of his unmanly existence. 
It was only when the tidings came battering at the gate 
that all Italy north of the Tiber had acknowledged the 
invader, that his officers could arouse him to a sense of 
his danger. Maxentius was rather a Nero than a Carinus 
or a Caracalla; and it was not until the Sibylline Books, 
which he consulted, returned answer that the enemy of 
Rome should perish (a perfectly safe evasion on the part 
of the oracle), that he mustered courage to take command 
of his troops. After his victory in Venetia, the indefati¬ 
gable Constantine had marched rapidly towards Rome, 
and at a place called Saxa Rubra, nine miles from the 
city, the two armies met. The battle was long and obsti¬ 
nate, the praetorians, whose number Maxentius had largely 
augmented, realizing that for themselves at least defeat 
meant utter destruction, especially distinguishing them¬ 
selves for stubborn bravery. But the skill and personal 
efforts of Constantine, aided at an important crisis by 
the dash of the Gallic cavalry, finally won the day; the 
[ 322 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

Roman forces were completely routed and Maxentius, 
attempting to escape across a bridge, was pushed into the 
Tiber, and, sinking into the mud by the weight of his 
armor, was drowned. His body was recovered the next 
day, and his head borne in the triumphal entry of his 
rival into the Imperial City, where his two sons were put 
to death. 

The success of Constantine, achieved largely by his per¬ 
sonal energy and ability, has been considered the most 
splendid enterprise of his life. Opposed by an army which 
outnumbered his soldiers five to one, the Italian troops, 
devoted alike to Maxentius and to the memory of their 
old commander, the Emperor Maximian, who had suf¬ 
fered death at the hands of the invader, and stimulated 
also by the recollection of the unsuccessful invasions of 
Severus and Galerius—against all these odds Constantine 
won his victories by the sheer force of genius and personal 
courage, and his meteor-like march through Italy has 
been not extravagantly likened to that of the first Ceesar 
after he had crossed the Rubicon. 

An important article of the secret treaty between Con¬ 
stantine and Licinius had been the betrothal of the latter 
to the Gallic Emperor’s sister Constantia; and as soon as 
order was established in Rome the conqueror journeyed 
to Milan, where Licinius met him to consummate the 
marriage. But in the very midst of the festivities came 
news of a serious invasion of Gaul by the Franks, and 
the hostile entry into Thrace by the ally of Maxentius, the 
Eastern Emperor Maximin. The imperial brothers-in-law 
hurriedly separated and travelled post-haste to the de¬ 
fence of their respective provinces, where each was alike 
successful. The bare presence of Constantine was sufficient 
to repel the Franks; the task of Licinius, however, prov- 
[ 323 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

ing more difficult. Maximin had captured Byzantium and 
penetrated as far as Adrianople, where he was confronted 
by Licinius with an army of thirty thousand men. The 
Eastern Emperor had more than twice that number, and 
for a time Licinius did not venture to test the issue. He 
was, however, a skilful soldier, and his legions had been 
well hardened and disciplined in the continuous border 
warfare. A battle finally took place, in which the Syrian 
forces were completely overthrown, their leader escaping to 
Tarsus, where he soon perished by that so-called “divine 
justice” which the profane mind accounted for through 
the medium of poison. The whole East accepted his defeat 
with complacency, Maximin as to ability and virtue hav¬ 
ing proved a rather more than faint echo of Maxentius. 
Licinius celebrated his victory by an act which could 
have been based alone upon a determination to extirpate 
every individual who might thereafter advance hereditary 
pretensions to his power. Having first destroyed the two 
children of Maximin, a boy of eight and a girl of seven, 
he next put to death Severianus, the harmless son of the 
deceased Emperor Severus (whose death had made room 
for the elevation of Licinius), Candidianus, the natural 
son of his friend and benefactor Galerius, and finally—the 
most shameful act of all—the virtuous and unhappy 
Valeria, widow of Galerius, and her aged mother Prisca, 
who were ruthlessly beheaded in Thessalonica. Prisca was 
the wife and Valeria the daughter of Diocletian, and 
before the ashes of Galerius were fairly cold, the brutal 
Maximin, whose wife was still alive, coveting the posses¬ 
sion and charms of the widowed Empress, endeavored to 
force her into a marriage with himself. Upon her dignified 
refusal, the tyrant had confiscated her estates and con¬ 
demned the Empress and her mother to exile. The old 
[ 324 ] 



DEC I US 














REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

Emperor Diocletian pleaded in vain that his wife and 
daughter might be permitted to minister to his declining 
years at his retreat in Salona; Maximin had been obdu¬ 
rate, and his conqueror indicating if anything still greater 
inhumanity, the wife and daughter of Diocletian escaped 
in disguise from their former asylum in exile, only to per¬ 
ish miserably after fifteen months’ hiding in the utmost 
wretchedness and privation. 

The tetrarchy of Diocletian had thus finally been re¬ 
placed by a dyarchy, in which Constantine controlled 
Italy, Africa, and all of the West, while the remainder of 
the Empire was subject to Licinius. It is true that the 
title of Caesar was conferred by Constantine upon Bassia- 
nus, who had married the Emperor’s sister Anastasia; 
while Valens, the Illyrian general of Licinius, was by the 
latter raised to the same rank. But in the war which 
speedily ensued between the rival Augusti, these unim¬ 
portant Caesars were speedily shorn of both title and 
power, which Constantine then plainly determined should 
ultimately be possessed by himself alone. After two bloody 
battles had been fought—one in Pannonia, the other in 
Thrace—between the Augusti, in each of which Constan¬ 
tine was victorious, although Licinius was not absolutely 
conquered, a peace was patched up between the contes¬ 
tants, Licinius remaining in possession of Thrace, Egypt, 
and the East, while Constantine added to his former pos¬ 
sessions all of the European provinces between Italy and 
the extremity of Peloponnesus. With this accretion of 
dignity and power the conqueror contented himself for 
eight years, during which the Roman world enjoyed in¬ 
ternal peace. But after his great victories over the Goths 
and other northern barbarians, Constantine “in his exalted 
state of glory found it impossible to longer endure a part- 
[ 325 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

ner in the Empire”; and assembling a formidable army, 
he marched for the last time against his associate. The 
old Emperor, notwithstanding his effeminate life in the 
East, was still warlike, and the contest was long in doubt. 
Constantine won the memorable battle of Adrianople, in 
which three hundred thousand combatants were engaged; 
but Licinius immediately shut himself up in Byzantium, 
which was able for a long time to withstand all the efforts 
of the conqueror. Before the city fell, Licinius escaped 
into Bithynia, where he organized a new army of sixty 
thousand men; and it was only after the decisive battle 
of Chrysopolis, in which more than half of his troops 
perished, that the sturdy old soldier could be persuaded 
that the candle was burned out. It is said that his wife 
Constantia played the part of Octavia in the negotiations 
between her vanquished husband and the victorious Au¬ 
gustus. After resigning the purple, and accepting his par¬ 
don from Constantine, Licinius was sent into confine¬ 
ment in Thessalonica, where he soon passed away among 
the shadows which so commonly settled down upon the 
dethroned rulers of the Roman world—once more united 
after thirty-seven years of divided power under a leader 
whose memorable accomplishments have conferred upon 
him the appellation of Constantine the Great. 

Constantine: 306-324-337 a. d. Flavius Valerius Au¬ 
relius Constantinus was born about the year 273, on the 
day that his father under the Emperor Aurelian gained a 
great victory over the Alemanni. His father, Constantius 
Chlorus, a nephew of the Emperor Claudius, 1 had married 
Fla via Julia Helena, the daughter of an innkeeper of un¬ 
known nationality, who became the mother of Constan- 
1 Ante, page 312. 


[ 326 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

tine, all of whose successors in the fourth century took his 
gentile name of Flavius. Although compelled to submit 
to a divorce from her husband upon his elevation to the 
rank of Caesar, 1 Helena lived to see her own son become 
the sole ruler of the Empire and to be herself saluted 
as Augusta by the soldiers. The mother of Constantine 
was a zealous Christian, and on the occasion of her pious 
pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the year 327, was accredited 
with the discovery of the holy sepulchre and the true 
cross, which in later years won for her the honor of a 
canonization. 

Constantine was probably born at Naissus, 2 in Dacia, 
and during his youth and early manhood concerned him¬ 
self more about the pursuit of arms than the acquisition 
of knowledge. At the time of his mother’s divorce he was 
eighteen years of age, and instead of allowing him to re¬ 
main in the service with his father and thus naturally ac¬ 
quire hopes of future power, Diocletian, whose policy for¬ 
bade the idea of hereditary succession, took the young man 
with him to the East, where he served with distinction in 
the Persian wars and finally attained the office of tribune. 
He remained with Diocletian, practically as a hostage, 
until the abdication; soon after which, having escaped 
from Nikomedeia, where Galerius had assumed control, 
he rejoined his father, and after the latter’s death gradu¬ 
ally worked his way up to supreme power, as previously 
related. 3 

Constantine is represented as having been tall and hand¬ 
some, skilled in all manly exercises, affable in manners, 

1 Helena is by some thought to have been united to Constantius by a 
marriage of the second order only; as to which see ante , page 238, Note 1. 

2 The legend that Constantine was born in Britain has been abandoned. 

3 Ante , pages 316 to 326. 


[ 327 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CdESAR 

and of a kindly disposition when not opposed. Possessed 
of high ambition and a masterful will, he was not over- 
scrupulous in the attainment of his ends; and although 
apparently free from cruel and revengeful instincts, he 
never hesitated to sweep out of his path every one—man, 
woman, or child—who impeded or in the slightest degree 
threatened his progress. The unvarying patience and self- 
control manifested by him during all the years of his asso¬ 
ciated reign proves that he had early mastered the grand 
philosophy of life by learning to wait. But the successive 
steps in his march to absolute power also demonstrate that 
when the time for action had unmistakably arrived, not 
even the great Ceesar was more prompt and vigorous in 
striking. 

Constantine was an intrepid soldier and an able general, 
but unlike all his predecessors in the purple who had been 
great military leaders, he achieved no important victory 
outside of the civil wars. His magnificent triumphal arch 
between the Colosseum and the Palatine, the best-pre¬ 
served monument of its kind in Rome , 1 was erected, not 
after any victory over a foreign foe, but in commemoration 
of the defeat of Maxentius, at Saxa Rubra, and of his final 
disbandment of the praetorians—acts, however, for which 
the long-suffering Romans might with genuine reason 
accord a triumph to their liberator. 

The foundation of a New Rome on the Bosphorus and 
his religious policy were Constantine’s most important 
contributions to universal history. In the establishment of 

1 Roman art was at so low an ebb in the fourth century that in default of 
competent sculptors the Arch of Constantine was embellished with orna¬ 
ments ruthlessly tom from a monument of Trajan, whose head in marble 
can still be discerned amidst the rude and unskilful decorations of Con¬ 
stantine’s builders. 


[ 328 ] 





GALLUS 










































































































































































REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

Constantinople as the imperial centre of a government 
which had legalized Christianity, the ultimate triumph of 
Eastern barbarism was retarded ten centuries; while Rome, 
thus finally and formally discarded by her temporal rulers, 
became the natural heritage of the pontifical authority. Of 
course neither of these results was intended by Constantine, 
who, in creating a Nova Roma, was actuated purely by a 
desire to mark in a visible and concrete form the glory of 
his personal achievements and at the same time establish 
for himself a fitting home far from the polluted atmos¬ 
phere of despised Rome. The great city which he founded, 
after playing a most important part in the history of civil¬ 
ization and again and again becoming the key to European 
diplomacy, has retained nothing but the name of the first 
Christian Emperor, whose sarcophagus even has been re¬ 
moved to the city he had scorned and abandoned—that 
pagan city which in the end surviving all assaults, became 
the living centre of the Christian world. 

Concerning the nature of the great Constantine’s rela¬ 
tion to Christianity volumes have been written—it being 
perhaps the most hotly disputed subject of any connected 
with the lives of the Roman Emperors. But, after all, the 
historically significant fact is not his personal acceptance 
or rejection of Christianity, but that he endowed it with 
worldly power sufficient for its development into “the 
strongest social and political agent that affects the destinies 
of the human race.” Viewed in this light, it is largely im¬ 
material whether we are to believe the story of Eusebius 
that Constantine was converted while on the march to 
meet Maxentius by the apparition of a luminous cross, or 
the relation of the pagan authors Libanius and Zosimus, 
who respectively date the conversion after the defeat of 
Licinius (323) and after the death of Crispus (326). The 
[ 329 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CJESAR 

facts are that although doubtless imbibing his father’s in¬ 
clinations towards the new religion, statesman as he was 
he had from the beginning treated the question as one of 
statesmanship. It is therefore occasion for no surprise that 
side by side with his decrees in favor of Christianity were 
others in favor of the gods, that throughout his reign new 
temples were built, as well as basilicas, and that pagan as 
well as Christian observances received the imperial sanc¬ 
tion. In all these acts we see the wisdom of the great ruler, 
devoting himself to the lofty aim of compelling men to 
live in peace, and trusting to time and habit to efface rad¬ 
ical differences of a kind which can never be destroyed by 
arbitrary decree. As Stanley remarked, Constantine was 
entitled to be called Great in virtue of what he did, rather 
than what he was. Whether he was actually a convert to 
Christianity as early as 313 is perhaps uncertain, but we 
do know that in that year he promulgated the Edict of 
Milan; which has been called the grandest legislative act 
in all history,—a declaration of the equality of all cults 
and the establishment of complete liberty for religious 
observances. The Christian Church doubtless accords him 
a higher place because of the Council of Nice, which he 
summoned and whose conclusions he adopted. The for¬ 
mulation of a credo was, to be sure, a high necessity for the 
Church in the face of the first great heresy with which it 
had been confronted. But infinitely grander, to the stu¬ 
dent of human greatness, is the solemn declaration over 
the signature of an Emperor bearing the pagan title of 
Pontifex Maximus, that Christian believers should enjoy 
peace and tranquillity equally with the worshippers of the 
old gods. 

Although the marriage of the first Constantius with 
Theodora had resulted in six children, of whom three were 
[ 330 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

sons (who were thus of imperial descent on both sides), 
the father seems never to have hesitated in according the 
right of succession to the child of his earlier marriage. 
The dying Emperor nevertheless solemnly commended his 
other children to the protection and care of Constantine, 
and with a single exception 1 the latter proved faithful to 
the trust, Theodora’s children receiving constant proofs of 
their imperial brother’s affection. He married Constantia 
to the Emperor Licinius, and the other two sisters re¬ 
ceived husbands of the highest rank. Of the three brothers, 
one died without a name or posterity; the other two mar¬ 
ried daughters of wealthy senators, and the son of one of 
them attained the purple after the last descendant of Con¬ 
stantine had perished. 

Constantine himself was twice married. His first matri¬ 
monial relations, however, were of the conjugium inequale 
order; and the fact that Minervina was still living did not 
therefore stand for a moment in the way of his second 
marriage to Fausta, daughter of the Emperor Maximian, 
a connection which promised to materially advance his in¬ 
terests. By his first wife he had a son named Crispus, who 
was about six years old when Constantine became Caesar. 
Crispus himself received the title some fifteen years later 
and proved a useful auxiliary to his father by winning 
some considerable victories over the Franks and Alemanni. 
In time, however, factions were formed about Crispus on 
the one side, and his half-brothers on the other; and the 

1 This was the murder of the only son of Constantia and Licinius. After 
the latter’s overthrow, the young Licinianus was for a time spared through 
the entreaties of his mother. When he had attained the age of twelve 
years, however, the Emperor imagined that his nephew had become a 
dangerous element, and notwithstanding the tears and supplications of 
his widowed sister, Constantine ordered the boy’s death. 


[ 331 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

former, accused of a conspiracy against his father, was 
imprisoned by the Emperor. The unhappy youth, who is 
said to have been highly amiable, soon perished by his fa¬ 
ther’s commands. Constantine had already put to death his 
father-in-law, the old mischief-maker Maximian; his wife’s 
nephews, the two sons of Maxentius (whom he had killed 
in battle); Bassianus, who had married his sister Anastasia; 
the Emperor Licinius, husband to his sister Constantia, 
and the latter’s young son Licinianus—all “for the good 
of the State .” 1 It remained only to round out this family 
tragedy by a still grosser domestic crime—to which his¬ 
tory declares he was incited by “Saint” Helena herself. 
The aged mother of the Emperor had been greatly at¬ 
tached to Crispus, and enraged by his murder, which she 
perhaps rightly attributed to the jealous dislike of Fausta, 
by whom Crispus had been accused of meditating parri¬ 
cide (or a worse crime, according to some historians), she 
seems to have persuaded her son that the Empress had 
been guilty of “abominable machinations.” Under her hus¬ 
band’s orders Fausta was thereupon seized by her women 
and stifled in a hot bath, and her name was effaced from 
the public edifices . 2 

The murder of his wife and son marked the culmination 
of Constantine’s prosperity; indeed, with the exception of 
the foundation of Constantinople, the period of eleven 
years during which his life was prolonged after the death 
of Fausta was barren of important events. Since his tri- 

1 Bassianus, however, deserves no pity, having conspired with Licinius 
against his imperial brother-in-law, who had given him his sister in mar¬ 
riage, and elevated him to the rank of Caesar. 

2 Some doubt has been expressed in regard to this story, but the weight 
of testimony seems to confirm it. The Church of St. John Lateran occu¬ 
pies the site of Fausta’s palace, which after her death was bestowed by 
Constantine upon the Bishops of Rome. 

[ 332 ] 



GALLIENUS 

















































































REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

umphal entry into the city after the overthrow of Maxen- 
tius, the Emperor had visited Rome only to celebrate the 
solemn festivals of the tenth and twentieth years of his 
reign. It was during the vicennalia celebration 1 that the 
deaths of Fausta and Crispus occurred; and the Romans, 
by whom Constantine was disliked both on account of his 
studied absences from the ancient city and the favor which 
he had shown the Christians, taunted him with the murder 
of Fausta, declaring that “Nero had come back to Rome .” 2 
Satirical verses were affixed to the palace gates, and the 
crowds indulged openly in sarcasms and insolence, while 
the Emperor, upon the Palatine, was himself contemptu¬ 
ously watching a celebration by the knights of the an¬ 
cient rite of offering to Jupiter the prayers of the Roman 
youths. Deeply incensed at this treatment, Constantine 
determined to turn his back upon Rome forever. Milan, 
Treves, Sirmium, and other provincial cities had been the 
occasional places of his residence; but he now set his face 
squarely towards the East, and the town of Byzantium 
was finally selected as the site of a new capital. 

Constantine spent immense sums in building and beau¬ 
tifying his imperial city, for the adornment of which Rome, 
Athens, and the East were despoiled of their sculptures. 
The Emperor never again visited his ancient city on the 
Tiber. After devoting four years to the building of Con¬ 
stantinople , 3 he spent the last seven years of his life in 
making a few good laws and indulging in some desultory 
wars with the Goths, but in the main “reposing to all 

1 The twentieth anniversary of his accession. 

2 The death of Fausta had been accomplished by a similar method to that 
adopted by Nero in ridding himself of Octavia. See ante , page 151. 

3 The old Byzantium was not destroyed by Constantine, whose edifices 
were built in the new quarters of the city. 

[ 333 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

eternity on the bosom of Indolence.” 1 In the year 337, 
which was the thirty-first of his reign, a war broke out 
with Rome’s traditional foe, the Persians, under a new 
Sapor. The Emperor left Constantinople at the head of 
his army; but death was upon him, and at Diocletian’s 
old city of Nikomedeia the end came. Just at the last he 
was baptized by the Arian Bishop Eusebius, and it was 
therefore said that he died a Christian. It certainly cannot 
be averred with any degree of truth that he had lived like 
one. His body was conveyed to the city he had founded 
and there interred near that of his mother in a magnificent 
tomb of porphyry in the Church of the Holy Apostles 
which he had built. He had lived sixty-three years, during 
one-half of which he wore the purple—thus marking the 
longest reign of any Emperor since Augustus. 

The Sons of Constantine : 337-361 a. d. It was Con¬ 
stantine’s intention that his three sons should share the 
Empire—with the exception of Pontus, and of Thrace, 
Achaia, and Macedon, which the Emperor had converted 
into separate kingdoms for his respective nephews, Dalma- 
tius and Hannibalianus. 2 At the time of their father’s death 
Constantine II was twenty-two, Constantius II twenty, 
and Constans seventeen. The elder brothers had become 
intensely jealous of their relatives of the half-blood, and 
in disregard of their father’s wishes determined to secure 
for themselves the entire inheritance, beyond the possi¬ 
bility of reclaim. The funeral of Constantine had occurred 
in June; and early in September following Constantius, 
who appears to have been the family plotter, having en¬ 
ticed his uncles and cousins to Constantinople under a 

1 Julian in the Ccesars. 

2 They were the sons of his second half-brother Hannibalianus. 

[ 334 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

solemn pledge of safety, incited the soldiers to a whole¬ 
sale massacre of the Flavians. Constantine’s two surviving 
brothers and seven of his nine nephews perished on the 
same day; the only male descendants of the first Con- 
stantius (other than Constantines own sons) who escaped 
were the two youngest sons of Julius Constantius (the 
youngest son of Chlorus), Gallus, aged twelve, and his 
half-brother Julian, a boy of six. Immediately after this 
great family murder, the three brothers were proclaimed 
Augusti under the imperial division which their father had 
indicated: Constantine II taking the West; Italy, Africa, 
and Illyria falling to Constans; while Constantius II, who 
had engineered the crime, added to his original share of 
the Eastern provinces the kingdoms of Thrace and Pontus, 
whose rulers were among the slain. 

This “family affair,” as D Artagnan and his friends would 
have termed it, was commemorated by the erection of 
statues inscribed “To the brothers who love each other”; 
but the sentiment, if it ever existed, was of short duration. 
Scarcely two years elapsed before Constantine, in emula¬ 
tion of his father, crossed the Alps with the intention of 
appropriating Italy and incidentally of pushing his youngest 
brother into the Adriatic. Successful in his first operations, 
still following in the footsteps of the great Constantine, but 
lacking his ability and military experience, he turned to 
the north and rashly attempted the capture of Aquileia, 
which was defended by a strong force under an able gen¬ 
eral. Constantine was defeated and killed; so that it was 
his body which upon the currents of the river Alsa was 
finally cast into the Adriatic, while his provinces of Gaul, 
Spain, and Britain reverted to his intended victim. 

Constantius was too deeply engaged in a desperate strug¬ 
gle with the Persians to oppose this aggrandizement of his 
[ 335 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

younger brother, who thus became master of two-thirds 
of the Roman world, a dignity which he retained thirteen 
years. Little is known of the reign of Constans, who has 
been variously represented by the ancient writers as a saint 
and a tyrant, a lazy profligate and a successful campaigner. 
But he seems to have at last thoroughly disgusted his sub¬ 
jects; for when in the year 350 a rough Gallic soldier of 
German extraction, named Magnentius, during a drinking 
bout of the guards donned the purple robe in a spirit of 
bravado, the soldiers received him with a cheer, while not a 
voice was raised in favor of the Emperor. When the news 
reached Constans, who was hunting in a forest near Autun, 
he fled towards the Pyrenees, but was speedily overtaken 
by the bloodhounds of the usurper and put to death. 

The claims of Magnentius were at first strengthened by 
an alliance with Vetranio, an Illyrian general who had 
himself been induced to assume the purple by Constantina, 
a sister of Constantius II, and the widow of the murdered 
Hannibalianus, King of Thrace. The usurpers sent an em¬ 
bassy to Constantius, proposing a division of the Empire. 
The Emperor declined to negotiate, and glad of an excuse 
to withdraw from the East, where he had been almost in¬ 
variably worsted by the Persians, came marching into Pan- 
nonia, with the avowed purpose of avenging his brother. 
He soon craftily detached his sister from the cause of Ve¬ 
tranio, who thereupon at once surrendered. Magnentius, 
however, maintained himself nearly a year. After destroy¬ 
ing Nepotianus, a nephew of Constantius, who with his 
mother, Eutropia, was killed at Rome, which he was en¬ 
deavoring to hold against the usurper, Magnentius, who did 
not lack for courage, set out for the Danube in quest of 
his adversary. It was Constantius who now proposed an 
accommodation, and Magnentius who refused. The issue 
[ 336 ] 



SALONINA WIFE OF 




G ALLIEN US 




























' 

















































































































































































































































































REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

was decided in favor of Constantius, who won the bloody 
battle of Mursa, in which fifty thousand of the best soldiers 
in the Empire perished. Magnentius fled to Italy, thence 
escaping to Gaul—only to learn that the Gallic and Italian 
cities had repudiated his brothers, who had been created 
Caesars and left in charge of the West during his absence 
in Pannonia. One of his brothers had already committed 
suicide, and Magnentius in a wild fit of rage and despair 
killed his mother and surviving brother and fell upon his 
sword. The curtain was rung down to a wholesale slaughter 
of his friends and partisans ordered by his conqueror. 

Constantius II, in whom the imperial power was united 
for a period of seven years , 1 has come down to us as small 
in stature and mind, and in character timid, crafty, sus¬ 
picious, and cruel, but with the redeeming traits of so¬ 
briety and a taste for literature. After the death of his first 
wife, who was his cousin , 2 Constantius married a lady of 
consular rank, who is spoken of by Julian as “the good 
and beautiful Eusebia.” The Emperor, however, had no 
children, and when the rebellion of Magnentius became 
formidable, he appointed his cousin Gallus Cassar with the 
government of the far East, and gave him his sister Con- 
stantina 3 in marriage. Gallus, who was now twenty-six 
years of age, had lived in a state of practical captivity 
since the murder of the Flavians, fourteen years before. 
His character was too weak to support this sudden change 
from a prison to a viceroyalty; and making a complete fail¬ 
ure of his charge, he was ordered back to Italy. Upon his 
arrival he was deprived of his office and after a mock trial 
beheaded. Constantina had died upon the way. 

1 Magnentius died in 353, and Julian was proclaimed in 360, the year 
preceding Constantius’s death. 

2 She was sister to Julian. 3 Ante, page 335. 

[ 337 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 


In the meantime Gaul had been completely overrun by 
an immense horde of Germans, who permanently occupied 
the left bank of the Rhine; and in default of a trustworthy 
leader, Constantius, who was in perpetual fear of another 
Magnentius, was induced by the Empress to appoint his 
cousin Julian, the last male Flavian, Caesar and prefect of 
the Gallic provinces—as in the case of Gallus, at the 
same time bestowing upon him a sister (named Helena) in 
marriage . 1 But the notable victories soon won by Julian 
speedily awakened the jealousy and suspicions of the Em¬ 
peror, who ordered the Gallic Caesar to despatch the flower 
of his army to assist the Emperor in the Persian war which 
had again broken out. The troops, unwilling to be trans¬ 
ported to the deadly sands beyond the Euphrates, openly 
rebelled; Constantius was publicly execrated, and Julian, 
strongly against his will, compelled to accept the title of 
Augustus which the army conferred. Although the Gallic 
Emperor seems to have honestly endeavored to avoid civil 
war, it soon became evident that no reconciliation was 
possible, and both sides prepared for the struggle. Julian 
first took the offensive by occupying Illyria, while Con¬ 
stantius was still in the far East. The latter at once set 
out for Europe, but at Tarsus was overtaken by a fever 
and a few days later died. He was in his forty-fifth year, 
having reigned a full quarter of a century. Like his father, 
he was baptized in his last illness. 

Julian: 361-363 a. d. Measured both by character and 
accomplishment, and considering the fact that he died 
before completing his thirty-second year, the last of the 
Flavian dynasty must be considered as one of the greatest 

1 No children resulted from this marriage, which Helena, much older 
than Julian, did not long survive. 

[ 338 ] 


REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

of the Roman Emperors. Pure in morals, even to austerity, 
intellectual and scholarly in taste, successful in war, and 
possessing administrative ability of high order, like that 
other pagan philosopher-Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, whom 
he indeed in many respects resembled, Julian commands 
the respect and esteem of an unbigoted posterity. 

Constantius, the father of Julian, was the youngest son 
of Constantius Chlorus and Theodora. He perished with 
his eldest son in the Flavian massacre , 1 leaving a son 
Gallus, by his first wife, Galla, and by his second wife, 
Basilina, a daughter, who married Constantius II, and a 
son Julian. The latter was only six years old when his 
father died, and during the eighteen years following he 
endured a sort of captivity at the hands of Constantius, 
to whom the young Flavian, at an early period in life, be¬ 
came an object of both suspicion and fear. But the Em¬ 
press Eusebia, who fully appreciated his talents and worth, 
never ceased to intercede for him with Constantius, who 
was finally persuaded by the Empress to install his cousin 
in the Gallic prefecture with the title of Ceesar . 2 Prior to 
this event, which occurred in his twenty-fifth year, Julian’s 
life had been devoted to study and meditation; and we 
find him writing to one of his philosopher friends, “I could 
have wished to have no other occupation but to converse 
with you, as heavily laden travellers sing on the road to 
lighten the weight of their burdens.” He tells us that as a 
boy he “often left his books to follow with devout gaze 
the triumphal march of the sun, or to contemplate by 
night the wonders and splendors of the starry sky”; and 
as a modern writer observes, in the worship of “the divine 
star,” the noblest of idolatries, he recognized the religion 
of his fathers and in Christianity he grew to hate the re- 

1 Ante, page 335. 1 Ante, page 338. 

[ 339 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

ligion of his persecutors. Short and thick-set in person and 
awkward in manner, it is said that when in answer to the 
Emperor’s summons after the death of Gallus Julian came 
to Milan , 1 wearing his philosopher’s cloak, his strange ap¬ 
pearance made him an object of ridicule to the entire 
Court. This fact not improbably counted for more than 
the persuasion of the Empress in overcoming the uneasi¬ 
ness and suspicion with which Julian had been regarded by 
the Emperor. For his own security, however, Constantius 
might wisely have yielded to his instinctive fears of his 
cousin. For this uncouth dreamer, whose conception of 
the duties of an Emperor were embodied in his statement 
to Themistius, “A king should have the nature of a god,” 
had in him the stuff of which true Csesars are made—re¬ 
quiring only opportunity to disclose the fires which were 
burning beneath his indifferent exterior. 

After several months’ arduous study of the science of 
war, the young lieutenant exchanged his philosopher’s 
cloak for the harness, and in a series of most brilliant 
campaigns , 2 in which he never met a reverse, he com¬ 
pletely freed Gaul from the barbarians and demonstrated 
himself as consummate a general as he afterwards proved 
a statesman in the speedy reestablishment of public order 
which he effected. 

After the death of Constantius, Julian, who had already 
been invested with the purple by the Gallic army, was 
decreed the imperial honors by the Roman Senate, and 

1 Constantius had resided there since the death of Magnentius. 

2 These campaigns extended over a period of five years, and during 
the enforced idleness of the winter months, the young general led the 
life of an ascetic philosopher in his Palace of the Thermes at Lutetia 
(Paris), the remains of which are still to be seen on the Boulevard 
St. Michel, passing his time in study and the administration of public 
affairs. 

[ 340 ] 



AURELIAN 



























































. 





















































































































































































































































































































REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

every one who believed in the old gods took heart of grace 
to believe that the ancient religion was to be reestablished. 
The Emperor had received Christian teaching during his 
boyhood, and until his twentieth year was supposed to 
have accepted the new religion. But at heart he seems 
to have always cherished the gods of his forefathers, and 
during a residence in Achaia—to which he had once been 
banished by Constantius—his dreamy and superstitious na¬ 
ture finally capitulated to the allurements of the old Greek 
religion; so that he returned to Italy despising Christianity 
more than ever. The reestablishment of the ancient cult 
became to him a sacred cause. But in the main he sought 
rather to accomplish it under the wise policy of the Edict 
of Milan 1 than by the intolerant methods of some of 
his pagan predecessors. And while some persecutions un¬ 
doubtedly occurred as soon as it became evident that the 
Christians were no longer to receive the special protec¬ 
tion hitherto accorded them, it is certain that the Emperor 
neither abetted nor approved any such acts of violence. 
His order compelling the Christian churches to restore all 
the property that had been pillaged from the pagan tem¬ 
ples was founded upon the simplest principles of justice; 
although to despoil the churches for any reason was per¬ 
haps not unnaturally considered an utter sacrilege by the 
Christians. On the other hand, the Emperor’s decree for¬ 
bidding Christians to hold public office and expelling their 
instructors from the public schools was a manifest iniquity 
and in strange contrast with his general religious policy, 
in regard 16 which the worst to be said is that throughout 
his reign the indulgence of the government was towards 
the pagans and its severity towards the Christians. And 
“the great Apostate” (as with a degree of injustice he has 

1 Ante, page 330. 


[ 341 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

been generally termed x ) seems at least to have been in¬ 
variably animated by a genuine humanity in his heroic 
effort—the most important fact of his reign—to restore 
the gods he adored with such ardent piety, and revive the 
superstitious practices which were a part of his religion. 

During the first six months of his reign Julian remained 
at Constantinople; and then assured that the tranquillity 
which obtained throughout the Empire 2 would not be 
affected by his temporary absence, he concluded that the 
time was opportune for a decisive victory over Romes 
perennial foe in the East, and set out for Antioch to pre¬ 
pare for an expedition against the Persians. In the spring 
of 353 he left Antioch with the largest force that ever 
invaded the East, and, dividing his troops into two armies, 
despatched one contingent under his kinsman and favor¬ 
ite general Procopius, who was expected to pass through 
Upper Mesopotamia and operate on the left bank of the 
Tigris towards the south. Julian himself with the main 
body sailed down the Euphrates and crossed over to Ctesi- 
phon. Failing to capture this time-honored bulwark of the 
sun-god’s domain, the Emperor turned aside and rashly 
advanced into the burning deserts to the north, in hope of 
effecting a junction with his other division. But the old 
prophecy 3 had not yet spent its force. In repulsing an at¬ 
tack in force, Julian, who had carelessly exposed himself 
without a breastplate, was struck by a random spear, which 
bore him to the ground. He made a gallant attempt to re- 

1 The assertion of St. Cyril that Julian had been baptized by Eusebius, 
Bishop of Nikoraedeia, who had directed his early studies, is considered 
extremely improbable—it being customary at the time to receive baptism 
very late in life. 

2 "While this great monarch reigned,” says the historian of the period, 
"not a barbarian crossed the frontier.” 

3 See Cams , ante , page 306. 


[ 342 ] 



* 


GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE SECOND FLAVIAN HOUSE 
Crispos, brother of the Emperor Claudius II 
Claudia, wife of Eutropius 



















REVIVAL OF SPLENDOR 

enter the fight—even attempting to pull out the spear with 
his own hands—but the effort was beyond his strength. 
He was borne to his tent, and after an affecting leave-tak¬ 
ing with his generals and friends, to whom he reaffirmed 
his confidence in an immortal life in heaven and among 
the stars, he quietly passed away, in the twentieth month 
of his reign and the thirty-second year of his age. With 
him disappeared the last expiring gleams of that imperial 
splendor which, checked in its decline by the second Clau¬ 
dius, and revived by his immediate successors, had been 
again steadily diminishing since the reign of Diocletian. 
Paganism had fought its last battle; the final triumph of 
Christianity, as a State religion, had come at last; and the 
disjointed evidences of a past imperial grandeur were soon 
to disappear forever beneath the great waves of barbaric 
invasion, already rolling up against the horizon. 

The dying Emperor had expressed the wish to be buried 
in a city where the old gods still reigned supreme; and in 
the city of Tarsus, far from the sepulchre of his two Chris¬ 
tian predecessors, the body of Rome's last pagan Emperor 
was tenderly hud at rest by his friend Procopius. It was 
declared by a Christian Bishop of the day that “the earth 
shuddered at contact with the Apostate's body, mid cast 
out the sacrilegious dust"; while Procopius engraved this 
epitaph upon his tomb; •‘Here lies Julian, killed beyond 
the Tigris, a good Emperor, a brave soldier"—in which 
simple eulogium at least all fair-minded men must concur. 1 

1 The Emperor Julian was a prolific writer. Many of his works are lost— 
destroyed it is supposed by the Christians — including his History of the 
Gallic ff'ar and the Refutation of the Gospels. But in his satirical drama of 
The Carsars —which Gibbon pronounces one of the most agreeable and 
instructive productions of ancient wit—and in some of his Letters and 
Orations, we find evidences of more than ordinary literary taste and 
abilitv. 


[ 343 ] 


CHAPTER IV 

THE FINAL DECLINE 

From Jovian to Romulus Augustulus: 363-476 A. D. 

J OVIAN: 363-364 a. d. The death of Julian, which was 
hailed with extravagant joy by the Christians, was the 
signal of disasters to the army in the East, which soon 
found itself in sore straits. On the day after the Emperor’s 
death a grave council was held in the camp. The friends 
of Procopius, the general in command of the northern con¬ 
tingent of the imperial army, who was believed to have 
been Julian’s choice as his successor, urged that the selec¬ 
tion of a leader should be postponed until the two forces 
were united. The proposal was, however, rejected by the 
majority, and the purple first tendered to Sallust, the prae¬ 
torian prefect, who declined the honor on the score of 
advanced age. The choice then fell upon the chief officer 
of the guards, a young man named Jovian, who was ex¬ 
tremely popular in the ranks, from which, under the in¬ 
fluence of his father, who was an officer of the imperial 
household, he had risen to the highest grades without 
losing the democratic qualities which had endeared him 
to his humbler associates. Like all of his predecessors since 
the second Claudius, Jovian was a native of Pannonia, and 
although deficient in character as well as talent, to none 
more than the Christians was he persona grata as candi¬ 
date for the purple—doubtless because of the significant 
fact that immediately after his election he made a public 
confession of Christianity. 

The imperial convert, however, had no scruples against 
obeying the voice of superstition when in the entrails of 
[ 344 ] 



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RUINS OF THE FORUM ROMANUM 










































































































THE FINAL DECLINE 

the sacrifice the priests of the army discovered that the 
gods counselled an immediate retreat from Persia; and in 
the greatest disorder the army prepared to recross the 
Tigris. But at a critical moment Sapor, informed by a de¬ 
serter of the disorganization which followed Julian’s death, 
appeared upon the scene with an “offer of peace”—which 
was practically a demand for the capitulation of the Roman 
army. A leader of ordinary courage and ability might safely 
have scorned such an overture, but the cowardly and plea¬ 
sure-seeking Jovian, whose only desire was to reach Con¬ 
stantinople and there indulge his profligate propensities, 
did not hesitate to accept the shameful conditions im¬ 
posed. As a result Rome lost all the advantages gained by 
Diocletian in his memorable campaign in 297, including 
the five provinces on the right bank of the Tigris and ulti¬ 
mately the Armenian alliance, that kingdom being speedily 
overthrown by the triumphant Persians. Thus the limits 
of the Empire began to contract—not, as in the case of 
Aurelian’s abandonment of Dacia, from a deliberate act 
of policy, but because of the timid and unnecessary con¬ 
cession of a weak and incompetent boy, who cared more for 
a good dinner than for the glory and safety of an Empire. 

Early in October Jovian reentered Antioch with the 
disheartened and humbled fragments of the great army 
which had marched out so vaingloriously a few short 
months before. Unable to endure the reproaches and sar¬ 
casm of the inhabitants, he hastily resumed his march, and 
passing through Cappadocia about the middle of Febru¬ 
ary began to approach his imperial city on the Bosphorus, 
for whose pleasures and excitements his profligate soul 
had so yearned, but which he was destined never to en¬ 
joy. Arriving one night at a little village in Bithynia, he 
indulged so freely in his favorite vice of gluttony that be- 
[ 345 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

fore morning dawned his feeble and melancholy reign had 
ended. As one historian laconically observes, “He was a 
Christian, overate himself, and died.” 

Proclaimed on the twenty-seventh of June, his death 
occurred on the sixteenth of February following. At Ti¬ 
gris he had redeemed one day by a pilgrimage to Julian’s 
tomb, for which he ordered some decorations; so that it is 
not an extravagant summing-up of his character as Em¬ 
peror to say that he had reigned just seven months and 
eighteen days too long. 

Valentinian I and Valens : 364-378 a. d. After the 
death of Jovian the army marched to Nicsea, where the 
question of a successor was debated. The aged Sallust 
again declined the honor of an election, and it was only 
after the discussion had been prolonged ten days that an 
agreement was reached in the selection of Valentinian, the 
tribune of the second company of the imperial guards. 
The new Emperor was in his forty-third year, a bold and 
skilful soldier and in high credit with the Christians—it 
having been related of him that during the reign of Julian 
he had openly declared his contempt for the ancient religion 
and refused, under threat of exile, to sacrifice to the old gods. 

Valentinian was born in Pannonia, that perpetual battle¬ 
ground of the Empire which had produced so many of his 
warlike predecessors—unlike most of whom, however, the 
successor of Jovian had acquired some education in letters* 
while mastering the art of war. A stern lover of discipline, 
his irascible temper frequently led him to impose the se¬ 
verest penalties for trifling negligences; and his harshness 
in this respect soon degenerated into absolute cruelty. Thus 
a boy, who, having been bitten by a hunting dog of which 
he was in charge, allowed the animal to escape, was whipped 
[ 346 ] 



PllOBUS 
































































































































































































































! 











































































THE FINAL DECLINE 

to death; a circus charioteer guilty of a slight breach of the 
rules perished at the stake; a provincial governor having 
ventured to request an exchange in the line of preferment, 
Valentinian brutally ordered that “his head be changed 
instead.” And it is related under what must be considered 
sufficient corroboration, that in a cage near his bed-chamber 
the Emperor kept two bears which were fed upon the liv¬ 
ing bodies of condemned criminals; one of these grim exe¬ 
cutioners named “ Innocence,” 1 as a reward for her services, 
being at last set free and allowed to range the forests under 
an imperial decree of protection. 

In view of the tales of imperial cruelty and murder with 
which the histories of his reign fairly bristle, posterity is 
compelled to withhold much of that profound respect 
which the religious policy of Valentinian commands. Con¬ 
stantine and Jovian, the great champions of Christianity 
and paganism, had each declared in favor of toleration. 
But Constantine, nominally unbiassed, was by turns severe 
and gracious to pagans and Christians, as policy demanded; 
while Julian, intensely pagan, was not broad enough to 
establish and maintain an absolutely equal bill of rights 
for both parties. It remained for “the bloodthirsty Valen¬ 
tinian” to both decree and compel the actual observance 
of a genuine religious liberty. Pagan and Christian were 
alike protected in their religious rights and observances, 
the scales being so evenly held that neither party might 
fairly claim imperial partiality. And this Emperor, who 
delighted in the spectacle of living criminals torn to pieces 
by a caged bear, seems actually to have based his religious 
policy upon the broad foundations which had been outlined 
in the remarkable defence of toleration which had been 
addressed to Jovian by the orator Themistius: “God, who 

1 The name of the other was “Golden Camel”! 

[ 347 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

has put the religious sentiment in the hearts of men, is 
willing to be worshipped in the way which each man pre¬ 
fers. The right of going to him as a man pleases, cannot 
be destroyed by confiscations, tortures, or death. From the 
lacerated body the soul escapes and carries with it a free 
conscience.” 

The death of Julian had been the signal for war through¬ 
out the whole Roman world, and within a year following 
the assaults upon the Empire had become so terrible that, 
as Marcellinus observes, “it seemed as if the Furies were 
throwing everything into confusion.” In October, 365, the 
necessity of a vigorous defence of his frontiers called the 
Emperor from Milan to Gaul, where he was fated to pass 
the ensuing ten years, sword in hand. At the end of that 
time, having secured the left bank of the Rhine by a chain 
of strong fortifications, he determined to establish a similar 
line of defence along the Danube. To prepare the way for 
this work, Valentinian crossed the river and engaged in an 
expedition against one of the border nations, in the course 
of which he destroyed many villages, all of whose inhabi¬ 
tants—men, women, and children—were put to the sword. 
But in the very passions which prompted this merciless 
extermination, the murdered Quadi speedily found an 
avenger. During his interview with a delegation which 
came begging for peace, Valentinian gave way to such a 
violent fit of rage that he ruptured a blood-vessel and ex¬ 
pired within a few hours. He was in his fifty-fifth year, and 
had nearly completed the twelfth of his reign. 

Valentinian was twice married. Five years after he be¬ 
came Emperor he repudiated his first wife, Valeria Severa, 
in order to marry the Arian Justina. Both Empresses sur¬ 
vived him, and each of their respective sons, Gratian and 
Valentinian, lived to wear the purple. 

[ 348 ] 



ZEXOBIA 
















THE FINAL DECLINE 

At the time of his election Valentinian had been urged 
to associate some fitting person with himself in the de¬ 
fence of the Empire. The spokesman of the army had sig¬ 
nificantly remarked, “O Excellent Emperor, if you love 
your kindred, you have a brother; if you love the State, 
then seek the fittest man.” The Emperor gravely promised 
to reflect, but almost immediately proclaimed his brother 
Gratian Augustus, with authority over the Eastern prov¬ 
inces. Three months later the brothers separated forever; 
Valentinian remaining at Milan, Valens proceeding to 
Constantinople. This proved to be the final and irrevocable 
division of the Empire, thereafter united only during the 
brief interval (following the death of Valentinian II) in 
which Theodosius, the Emperor of the East, remained at 
Milan. The death of the latter has, however, been so gen¬ 
erally regarded as the period when the Empire actually 
split in two, that both Theodosius and his predecessor may 
not improperly be counted among the Emperors of the 
West. 

Valens was six years younger than his brother, whom 
he seems to have resembled only in the cruelty of his dis¬ 
position. Small in stature, repulsive in countenance, rude, 
indolent, avaricious, and of a cowardly nature, it is a mat¬ 
ter for wonder that neither of the rebellions against him 
was successful. Procopius—the friend and trusted lieuten¬ 
ant of Julian—did make some headway in his resistance, 
and for a time actually pretended to exercise imperial func¬ 
tions ; but in the end his generals deserted and traitorously 
surrendered their leader to the vindictive young tyrant, by 
whom he was put to death and his head despatched to 
Valentinian, as a gory emblem of his brother’s triumph. 
All of the friends of Procopius also suffered a cruel death 
at the Emperor’s hands. Theodorus, another competitor, 
[ 349 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

met a similar fate, while a great number of the honorati 
perished in “a promiscuous execution of the innocent and 
the guilty,” to which Valens was prompted as well by rage 
as by his anxious suspicions. His reign was a time of 
brutality and bloodshed, but he “was a Christian,” which 
presumably reconciled the people to all the rest. 

In the year 376 the great Gothic nation which ruled the 
north country from the Don to Transylvania found itself 
hard pressed by a new and savage people called Huns 1 ; 
and after one great division of the Goths had been over¬ 
come, 2 the other despairingly appealed to Valens for leave 
to cross the Danube and settle in the waste lands of Thrace. 
The Emperor weakly consented, and in a short time be¬ 
tween one and two hundred thousand fighting men with 
their wives and children—perhaps a million souls in all— 
had crossed the frontiers and established themselves in the 
Roman provinces. The result was precisely what might have 
been foreseen. Disputes arose between the fair-haired, blue¬ 
eyed warriors of the north and the swarthy inhabitants 
who found themselves gradually pushed backwards by the 
hungry newcomers. Soon a battle was fought in which the 
Romans were badly beaten; whereupon the greedy barba¬ 
rians, tempted by the prospect of rich booty, quickly over¬ 
ran the entire country which is now Turkey in Europe. 

Despatching an urgent appeal for aid to his nephew 
Gratian, who had succeeded Valentinian, Valens assem¬ 
bled an army and set out for Adrianople, which the Goths 
were menacing. Gratian sent word that he was tempora- 

1 The Huns were a nomad people of Asia, and belonged to the great 
Mongolian race. 

2 The Gothic nation was divided into the Ostrogoths, or “Steppe Dwell¬ 
ers,” in the east, and the Visigoths, or “Dwellers in the Woods,” on the 
west. The former bore the brunt of the Hun invasion from the northeast. 

[ 350 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 


rily detained by illness at Sirmium and begged Valens to 
await his arrival, when by their combined forces the bar¬ 
barians might be completely destroyed. Ambitious to se¬ 
cure all the glory, Valens foolishly resolved to proceed 
alone and force a battle at once. On the ninth of August 
he attacked the Goths about twelve miles from Adrian- 
ople, and after a series of misfortunes on the part of the 
imperial forces, the latter were utterly routed. In actual 
losses incurred, as well as in the fatal consequences, the 
defeat was the most disastrous which had befallen any 
Roman army since Hannibal won the battle of Cannae in 
the Second Punic War . 1 Almost all of its generals, thirty- 
six tribunes, and two-thirds of the Roman army 2 are said 
to have perished. Valens, wounded by an arrow while at¬ 
tempting to escape, took refuge in a neighboring cottage. 
A band of the enemy speedily attacked the building, 
and repulsed by a few archers who had accompanied the 
wounded Emperor, set fire to the structure, all of whose 
inmates perished in the flames. Valens was forty-eight 
years old and had reigned fourteen years. 

Gratian—Maximus—Valentinian II: 378-392 a. d. 
In the year 367 the Emperor Valentinian, during a severe 
illness, had conferred upon Gratian, the son of his first 
wife, Severa, the title of Augustus. 3 Gratian was then only 
eight years of age; so that upon his father s death the pur- 

1 August 2, 216 b. c. 

2 Valens had from eighty to ninety thousand effective men. 

3 Julian was the last “Caesar.” This name, the hereditary cognomen of 
the Gens Julia, originally belonged to all related on the father’s side 
of that house. From the time that Verus, the adopted son of Hadrian, 
assumed the name, it designated the heir-apparent, but conferred no 
special authority. The Caesars of Diocletian, heirs of the Augusti, were 
invested with extensive authority; each had his capital city, his army, 

[ 351 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

pie descended to a lad of fourteen. The army, however, 
insisted that the title of Augustus should be given also to 
Gratian’s half-brother, Valentinian, a boy of five, to whom 
were assigned the provinces of Illyria, Italy, and Africa, 
as his share of the Empire. Strangely enough, neither jeal¬ 
ousy nor rivalry seems to have been at any time mani¬ 
fested by either the boy Emperors or their mothers. Al¬ 
though not consulted in the division of his Empire, Gratian 
and his friends accepted the result with complacency, the 
former quietly proceeding to Lutetia (Paris), where he 
fixed his headquarters, leaving Valentinian and his mother, 
the Empress Justina, at Milan. 

Gratian was of a mild and kindly disposition, but with¬ 
out any strength of character and utterly wanting in tact. 
He soon lost the affection with which he had first been 
received by his subjects, who became more than ever es¬ 
tranged when the young man surrounded himself with 
barbarians, whose customs and dress he even adopted. 
During the eight years of his reign this son of the vigor¬ 
ous and warlike Valentinian seems to have devoted him¬ 
self almost entirely to boyish trifling and hunting; and by 
this inattention to even the artificial duties of sovereignty, 
he himself prepared the way for a successful revolution. 
In the year 383 his subjects in Britain rebelled and pro¬ 
claimed an ambitious young Spaniard named Maximus, 
who forthwith gathered together such an immense army 
that its departure was long remembered as “the emigra- 

and his treasury, and exercised executive, judicial, and military functions. 
Under Constantine the Caesars were boys designated for the imperial 
station; under Constantius they were lieutenants with very limited au¬ 
thority; after Julian the title and position ceased to exist. Duruy, Hist. 
Rome, Vol. viii. page 76, note. Gibbon, however, asserts that Valentinian 
III “was promoted to the rank and dignity of Caesar” by Theodosius II, 
Emperor of the East. 


[ 352 ] 


4 I •' 


« 



CAlllNUS 
































































































































































\ 
















' 






























































































































THE FINAL DECLINE 

tion of a considerable part of the British nation.” Gratian 
made some feeble show of defence, but upon the approach 
of Maximus the Gallic legions deserted en masse and the 
usurper entered Paris unopposed. Gratian fled to Lyons, 
whence he might easily have escaped to the East; but he 
foolishly allowed the governor to detain him with prom¬ 
ises of approaching succor until the arrival of Maximus’s 
cavalry, the commander of which immediately put him to 
death. Gratian had reigned eight years and was twenty- 
four years of age. His one service to the State had been 
his appointment of Theodosius to the Eastern Empire, 
after the death of his uncle Valens in 378. 

The marriage of Gratian at an early age to Flavia Con¬ 
stants, daughter of the Emperor Constantius II, had 
awakened great hopes that the noble Flavian line might 
be reestablished. But no children were born to Constantia, 
who did not survive her husband. She is believed to have 
been the St. Constantia of the Church, whose sarcopha¬ 
gus, obtained from the Church of Santa Constantia fuori 
le mura, may still be seen in the Vatican. 

The conqueror of Gratian was a Spaniard by birth, who, 
although apparently a man of both ability and integrity, 
had achieved no high position, either civil or military, 
prior to his investiture by the army. There is reason to 
believe that the purple was forced upon him against his 
wishes. In an embassy to Theodosius—the recognized 
head of the State, Valentinian II being a weak boy 
of thirteen, in leading-strings to his mother—Maximus 
denied responsibility for Gratian’s death, which he af¬ 
fected to deplore; and proposed that the division of the 
Western Empire which had been established between 
Valentinian II and Gratian should be continued under the 
former and himself as the latter’s successor. Theodosius, 
[ 353 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

exhausted by his struggle with the Goths, and thus forced 
to dissemble his resentment, agreed to these proposals and 
Maximus permanently established himself in Gaul. Here 
he might have ended his days in peace had he been able 
to resist that “lust for greater and greater power” which 
so commonly follows its first taste. At the end of four 
years, under cover of despatching auxiliaries to aid Valen- 
tinian in a Pannonian war, Maximus seized the fortresses 
of the Alps and unexpectedly appeared before Milan, the 
boy Emperor and his mother barely escaping before the 
invaders entered the city. 

The Empress Justina, who was a woman of spirit, has¬ 
tened to Constantinople to beg aid from Theodosius. She 
had a powerful advocate in her beautiful daughter Galla, 
of whom the Emperor of the East soon became so enam¬ 
ored that he requested only the favor of an immediate 
marriage, before setting out to avenge the family of his 
benefactor. The wedding was accordingly celebrated, and 
Theodosius prepared with equal promptitude to fulfil his 
promise. Assembling a great host of Goths, Huns, and other 
barbarian mercenaries, as auxiliary to his regular troops, he 
set out for Italy in May, 388, and three months later, after 
winning two decisive battles from Maximus, crossed the 
Julian Alps and drove the usurper into Aquileia, whence 
he was speedily delivered up to the conqueror and by the 
latter beheaded. His young son was also put to death, 
while his mother and daughters were condemned to exile. 
Maximus had ruled five years. His reign is memorable as 
that of the first Christian ruler who shed heretical blood, 
under due process of law. 

After the overthrow of Maximus, Theodosius reseated 
the young Emperor upon the throne of Milan, adding to 
his original domain all of the W estern provinces which had 
[ 354 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 

been held by Maximus. The Emperor of the East, how¬ 
ever, himself remained three years in Italy, bending all his 
energies to the restoration of public order and a reforma¬ 
tion of the abuses which had grown up since the death of 
Valentinian I, although the name of the boy Emperor was 
invariably written in the public acts. The Empress Justina 
had died shortly after the restoration; and upon his final 
departure for Constantinople Theodosius selected a brave 
Frank named Arbogastes to act as guide and proctor for 
Valentinian, then seventeen years old. The latter is repre¬ 
sented as a most amiable and engaging youth, virtuous, 
temperate, and industrious. But like his elder brother he 
had no stability of character, and the ambitious and strong- 
willed Frank easily and quickly made himself supreme in 
the State. Boy that he was, the Emperor seems to have 
realized the situation, and egged on by his courtiers, who 
were restive under the unchecked power of a barbarian, 
Valentinian one day handed a rescript to Arbogastes de¬ 
priving him of his office. The proud Frank coolly tore the 
paper to fragments with the remark, “My authority does 
not depend on the smile or frown of a monarch.” The 
young Emperor angrily reached for a sword, but the guards 
interposed and Arbogastes contemptuously left the room. 
A few days later the body of Valentinian was found hang¬ 
ing from a tree; and although the fact was strenuously 
denied by Arbogastes, there seems little doubt that the 
Emperor was murdered at the instigation of his minister. 
Valentinian had just become twenty-one and had reigned 
sixteen years. 

Theodosius : 392-395 a. d. The Emperor Theodosius 
was the son of a skilful general of the same name, who 
had been one of the most useful lieutenants of the first 
[ 355 ] 


THE HOUSE OF (LESAR 

Valentinian. The son himself rendered valuable services to 
the same Emperor, from whom he in return received sub¬ 
stantial favors; and to the latter’s son Gratian he owed his 
elevation to the throne of Constantinople after the over¬ 
throw of Valens. To his credit be it said he never failed in 
loyalty to the family which had established his fortunes; 
and this notwithstanding the fact that the elder Theodo¬ 
sius lost his life through the unjust anger of Gratian’s 
mother, after her return to power following the death of 
Valentinian, who had previously divorced her. 

Theodosius was thirty-two years of age when appointed 
to the Western Empire, and from that time on his life 
was for the most part intensely active, and in his military 
efforts at least crowned with invariable success. The last 
Roman Emperor to whom any measure of greatness may 
with certainty 1 be accorded, his character was a singular 
blending of cruelty and kindness, passion and benevolence, 
liberality and narrowness. The massacre in Thessalonica 
was scarcely exceeded in brutal cruelty by that of the 
Alexandrians under Caracalla. The Emperor was himself 
painfully conscious of his passionate temper, to which 
rather than any innate vicious tendencies his occasional 
cruelties are properly ascribed. Apart from these, his im¬ 
placable hatred of “heretics” and his intolerance of expir¬ 
ing paganism, Theodosius seems to have merited much of 
the extravagant praises of the “Panegyrics.” A good hus¬ 
band and father, a good friend, and on the whole a good 
ruler, it may be conceded that he really aimed to be “a 
faithful guardian of the happiness and dignity of the Ro¬ 
man people.” The author of the “Decline and Fall” de¬ 
clares that Theodosius has deserved the singular commen¬ 
dation “that his virtues always seemed to expand with his 

1 See Majorian, post, page 370. 

[ 356 ] 



DIOCLETIAN 
























































THE FINAL DECLINE 

fortune; the season of his prosperity was that of his mod¬ 
eration; and his clemency appeared the most conspicuous 
after the danger and success of a civil war.” In such an 
eulogy are many of the elements of true greatness. 

During the first year of his reign Theodosius was over¬ 
taken by a serious illness, and in the expectation of death 
he accepted baptism in the Orthodox Church. His recov¬ 
ery to health was signalized by some particularly intolerant 
decrees against heretics—one of his laws even declaring 
that “whoever by ignorance or negligence offends against 
the divine law commits sacrilege”; with the penalty of 
death at the stake, in the arena, or on the cross. But these 
edicts were as nothing compared with his rescripts against 
the pagans. Under successive decrees, the privileges of the 
priests were abolished, the instruments of idolatry were 
seized and destroyed, the temples were closed, and the 
consecrated property was confiscated for the benefit of the 
State or the Church or the army; while the sacred edifices 
themselves, although not officially condemned to destruc¬ 
tion, gradually disappeared under the zeal of the Christian 
reformers and the fury of the monks, which the Emperor 
did nothing to check . 1 And as a last and final blow to the 
ancient religion, the use of sacrifices and the practice of 
divination by the entrails of the victim were declared to 
be both infamous and a crime against the State, pun¬ 
ishable by death. Under this master stroke, superstition, 
wounded in its most vital part, succumbed so rapidly that, 
as we are told, “only twenty-eight years after the death 
of Theodosius the faint and minute vestiges of paganism 
were no longer visible to the eye of the legislator.” This 
absolute destruction of the pagan religion (said to be the 

1 In this blind fanaticism many priceless works of art and literature were 
lost to the world forever. 


[ 357 ] 


THE HOUSE OF OESAR 

only instance of the total extirpation of any ancient and 
popular superstition) was the most memorable event in 
the life of Theodosius. 

After the death of the second Valentinian, 1 Arbogastes, 
who had vainly endeavored to convince the world that his 
imperial master had committed suicide, deemed it prudent 
to perpetuate his power under cover of another name, and 
accordingly designated for the purple his former private 
secretary Eugenius. The latter was a man of obscure origin, 
who had at one time been a teacher of rhetoric; evidently 
endowed with both ability and character and possessed of 
enough common sense to accept his unexpected honors 
with extreme reluctance. The army interposed no objec¬ 
tion to the wishes of Arbogastes, but the Emperor Theo¬ 
dosius refused to accept Eugenius as a colleague (incited 
perhaps by Galla, who implored him to again 2 avenge a 
murdered brother) and prepared for another expedition to 
Italy. Arbogastes was, however, recognized as a formidable 
adversary, and it was quite two years before Theodosius 
succeeded in organizing an army with which he felt will¬ 
ing to hazard his fortunes. Arbogastes had not been idle 
in the meantime, and when the opposing forces finally 
came together near Aquileia in September, 395, the re¬ 
sult of the first day’s combat was so doubtful that the 
generals of Theodosius urged him to retire. The Emperor 
stubbornly refused, and on the following day, after a most 
desperate struggle, achieved a complete victory. As in the 
case of Maximus, 3 the usurper Eugenius was delivered up 
to Theodosius by his own soldiers, and while in the very 
act of begging forgiveness upon bended knees his head 

1 Ante, page 355. 

2 The murderer of her brother, Gratian, had been overthrown by Theo¬ 
dosius at her instigation. Ante, page 354. 3 Ante, page 354. 

[ 358 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 

was stricken off by order of the conqueror. Two days later 
Arbogastes, a fugitive in the mountains, committed sui¬ 
cide. His pretence of power had lasted two years. The 
Emperor himself survived his victory scarcely five months. 
He died at Milan in January, 395, having lived forty-nine 
years and reigned sixteen. His death marked the final sepa¬ 
ration of the Empire. 

Theodosius was twice married. By his first wife, iElia 
Flaccilla, he had two sons, Arcadius, who succeeded him 
as Emperor of the East, and Honorius, who received the 
Western Empire. His second wife, Galla, the sister of the 
Emperor Gratian and Valentinian II, died in childbed leav¬ 
ing an only daughter, Placidia, who lived to play a singular 
and eventful part in the future history of the State. 

Honorius : 395-423 a. d. The younger son of Theodo¬ 
sius was only ten years old when he became Emperor. 
His authority, under what promised to be the final and 
permanent division of the Empire, extended over Italy, 
Africa, Spain, Gaul, Britain, and half of the Illyrian prov¬ 
inces, the remainder falling to Arcadius, then eighteen years 
of age. The sons of Theodosius were accepted eagerly by 
their respective subjects in old and new Rome, and there¬ 
after each of the brothers pursued his feeble and meaning¬ 
less course without in the slightest concerning himself 
about the other. 

Honorius proved in every respect a most degenerate 
son of his forceful and vigorous father. Ignorant, effemi¬ 
nate, utterly devoid of ambition, and apparently a stranger 
even to every sort of passion, the chief amusement, if not 
actually the sole occupation of his life, seems to have been 
the feeding of poultry. With the death of Theodosius the 
genius of Rome may indeed be said to have perished. 

[ 359 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

The partiality of a father which led to the designation of 
this unworthy successor to Theodosius did not blind that 
Emperor to the necessity of providing an efficient guar¬ 
dian to direct the State at least during the immaturity 
of his son; and with his usual penetration he selected for 
that purpose a brave and energetic soldier named Stilicho, 
who had married the Emperor’s niece, Serena, their only 
daughter, Maria, being at the same time betrothed to Ho- 
norius. The marriage occurred when the boy Emperor at¬ 
tained the age of fourteen, Maria being two or three years 
younger. Ten years later this play-marriage was dissolved 
by the death of Maria, and about the same time Stilicho, 
who had consistently devoted his great energies and com¬ 
manding abilities to the defence of the Empire, now en¬ 
gaged in a death-grapple with its countless foes, was mur¬ 
dered through the jealous spite of an unscrupulous minister 
of Honorius. Stilicho was perhaps the only man who might 
have prolonged the existence of the State, and his fall 
gave the signal for such an invasion of wild races that the 
Roman provinces were reduced to the verge of ruin. Upon 
news of his death Alaric and his Goths, who had been 
twice defeated and finally driven out of Italy by the in¬ 
trepid Stilicho, came rushing back across the Alps and 
made straight for Rome. After sustaining three separate 
sieges, the first two of which were terminated by the pay¬ 
ment of a heavy tribute to the invaders, through the 
treachery of some slaves who opened the Salarian gate at 
midnight, the city was finally taken by Alaric, and for the 
first time in eight hundred years 1 a foreign army entered 
the proud city of Romulus; which was speedily given up 
to plunder and destruction by the ruthless conqueror. It 
is said that when a terror-stricken courier rushed into the 

1 Rome was burned by the Gauls in the year 390 B.C. 

[ 360 ] 



CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS 


















. 









f 






























THE FINAL DECLINE 

presence of the Emperor at Ravenna with the cry, ‘‘It 
is all over with Rome!” Honorius rejoined, “Why, how 
can that be when I have just this moment fed her?” his 
thoughts being engrossed with a pet hen which he had 
named after the now dethroned mistress of the world. 

Alaric did not long survive the sack of Rome, but under 
his half-brother Adolphus, who succeeded him, the Goths 
overran Italy, to whose sufferings and misery Honorius 
remained supremely indifferent. In fact, the personality of 
the Emperor played so small a part in the history of the 
eventful twenty-eight years of his so-called reign that there 
remains slight cause for wonder at his escape from a vio¬ 
lent death during a period choked with such terrible deeds 
of bloodshed; a fact which one historian nevertheless pro¬ 
nounces “the most remarkable occurrence of his life!” 
He died finally of dropsy in his fortieth year. During his 
reign Britain had become independent, Spain also was lost 
forever, and the terrible Goths had gained a foothold in 
Italy from which they were to be dislodged only after 
Rome itself had perished. 

John: 423-425 a. d. During the reign of Honorius, Ra¬ 
venna on the Adriatic had been the nominal seat of the 
Western Empire; and from that city messengers were at 
once despatched to announce the Emperor’s death to the 
Court of Constantinople, which was expected to designate 
a successor. Italy was of course in a state of chaos at 
the time; and while the Eastern Court was deliberating, 
the late Emperor’s confidential secretary, an unscrupulous 
character named John, found no difficulty in arrogating 
to himself the pitiful remnants of imperial power. Forti¬ 
fied by the acquiescence of the Italians and a promise of 
support from the Huns, the usurper sent an embassy to 
[ 361 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Theodosius, who had succeeded his father Arcadius as Em¬ 
peror of the East. But the embassy received scant courtesy 
and John was compelled to prepare for war. 

The Emperor Honorius had a half-sister named Pla- 
cidia—the only child of Theodosius and his second wife, 
the beautiful Galla. After the fall of Rome, Placidia was 
detained by Alaric as a hostage for the promises of Hono¬ 
rius; and having refused an offer of marriage from the 
conqueror she surprised and disgusted her friends by ac¬ 
cepting the suit of Adolphus, who succeeded his brother. 
Placidia—whose marriage one is almost tempted to con¬ 
sider a love match—accompanied her husband to Gaul 
and there reigned as Queen of the Goths, to whom that 
once warlike province had weakly succumbed. The ancient 
writers declare that the Roman matron was adored by her 
barbarian lord, who graciously named the son which she 
presented him after her illustrious father, the great Theo¬ 
dosius. But the happiness of Placidia was short-lived. The 
untimely death of her child was speedily followed by the 
murder of her husband, by whose successor the unhappy 
widow was subjected to the most cruel insult and suffer¬ 
ings. A brave soldier named Constantine, who was sup¬ 
posed to have loved Placidia before her captivity, volun¬ 
teered to secure her release from the barbarians, who had 
refused the Emperor’s demand for his sister’s freedom. 
Successful in his enterprise, the Roman knight as a reward 
for his valor received from Honorius the unwilling hand 
of his sister in marriage. Constantine, however, soon died, 
leaving two children, who remained with their mother at 
the imperial Court until after a quarrel with Honorius 
Placidia was banished from Italy. With her children she 
set out for Constantinople, where the news of her brother’s 
death and the usurpation of John quickly followed her; 

[ 362 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 

whereupon she made an ardent appeal to her nephew for 
the recognition of her son’s rights. Emulating his grand¬ 
father, who had twice listened favorably to a similar ap¬ 
peal from Placidia’s own mother, the Emperor placed his 
army at his aunt’s disposal, unlike the great Theodosius, 
however, the degenerate young ruler himself remaining at 
home. Success nevertheless crowned the expedition; Ra¬ 
venna was taken after a short struggle and the hapless 
John received small mercy from the sister of his former 
master. The usurper’s right hand was struck off, and after 
he had been dragged to the neighboring city of Aquileia 
and there paraded through the public streets mounted 
upon an ass, he was beheaded in the circus. Two years 
had marked his miserable tenure of power. 

Valentinian III: 425-455 a. d. The third Valentinian 
was only six years of age when by authority of Theodosius 
he was solemnly invested with the diadem and purple and 
saluted as Augustus. As his character gradually developed 
he displayed the weaknesses of his race, without any of 
those negative virtues even which to some extent operated 
as a redeeming trait in the lives of his uncles and cousin. 
Dissolute, cowardly, superstitious, and without ability or 
manly quality whatsoever, he fittingly terminated a life of 
profligacy by wrenching away with his own hands the last 
prop which supported the tottering fabric of the Roman 
State. 

Placidia was delegated to exercise the imperial power 
during the minority of her son, but as matter of fact 
she never formally relinquished the government until her 
death, at which time Valentinian had attained his thirtieth 
year. At the outset she was guided by two able generals, 
Aetius and Boniface, who Gibbon says “may be deservedly 
[ 363 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

named as the last of the Romans.” An enduring alliance 
between the three might have accomplished much for the 
State. But Placidia, who was weak and incompetent, could 
not control her lieutenants, whose mutual jealousies soon 
led to a personal encounter in which Boniface was killed. 
Aetius was exiled for the offence, but within a few years 
was recalled to defend a threatened invasion by the Huns, 
under the terrible Attila; and from that time until his 
death he was the actual master of what remained of the 
Western Empire. 

A historian of the time declares that Aetius was born 
to be the salvation of the Roman Republic. He was cer¬ 
tainly a man of remarkable vigor and ability, and during 
the entire seventeen years of his virtual reign substan¬ 
tially protected Italy and Gaul from the barbarians. About 
the year 450 the Scourge of God} after threatening both 
the Eastern and Western Empires and demanding sub¬ 
mission to him as “their master,” invaded Gaul with a 
mighty host. The heroic Aetius was prepared for him, and 
at Chalons, in one of the bloodiest battles of antiquity, the 
Huns were defeated and Attila forced to retire from the 
Roman provinces . 2 

Placidia, who died about the time of Attila’s defeat , 3 
had a daughter named Honoria, who had angered her 

1 Attila had been so named by a pious monk who believed that his rav¬ 
ages were a direct punishment for the awful sins of Rome. 

2 The number killed in this memorable battle has been variously esti¬ 
mated at from one hundred and sixty thousand to three hundred thou¬ 
sand. Even the lowest number is doubtless an exaggeration—although 
one historian observes that "whole generations may be thus swept away 
by the madness of kings in a single hour.” 

3 She died at Rome November 27, 450, and was buried at Ravenna, where 
her sepulchre and even her corpse, seated in a chair of cypress wood, 
were preserved for ages. 


[ 364 ] 





CONSTANTINE 


THE GREAT 





















THE FINAL DECLINE 

family by selecting as a lover her chamberlain Eugenius. 
The princess, who was only sixteen, was first publicly dis¬ 
graced by her resentful mother and then banished to Con¬ 
stantinople, where she passed ten or more years in irksome 
seclusion. Despairing of other relief, she at last conceived 
the remarkable idea of appealing to Attila; and just be¬ 
fore the battle of Chalons managed to transmit a letter to 
him, enclosing a ring as pledge of her love and earnestly 
entreating him to claim her as his wife. The astonished 
Hun, nothing loath to include an Emperor’s sister in his 
train, actually made a demand for the princess just before 
his invasion of Gaul; whereupon her indignant relatives at 
Constantinople sent the misguided woman back to Rome. 
There she was compelled to marry an obscure person, as 
a nominal husband, and immediately afterwards was con¬ 
demned to perpetual imprisonment—as the historian says 
“to bewail those crimes and misfortunes which Honoria 
might have escaped had she not been born the daughter 
of an Emperor.” 

After his defeat by Aetius, Attila renewed his demand for 
Honoria, and being again refused at once invaded Italy, 
laid siege to Aquileia, which he destroyed so completely 
that after fifty years its site even could not be found, and 
marched on Rome. Valentinian, wild with fright, at once 
despatched Pope Leo to promise that Honoria should be 
given up. The savage destroyer, of whom it was said that 
the grass never grew on a spot where his horse had trod, 
agreed to stay his conquest until the condition of its en¬ 
tire abandonment should be fulfilled by Honoria’s release. 
In the meantime he consoled himself by marrying a beau¬ 
tiful girl named Hilda; and in a debauch incident to the 
nuptial ceremonies his wild barbarian life went out—leav¬ 
ing one weeping woman by his bedside and another in the 
[ 365 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CLESAR 
Roman prison from which she was now destined never to 
escape. 

The death of Attila, which might be thought to have 
marked Rome’s salvation, was actually the signal for its 
final downfall. The miserable Emperor, who had cringed 
to Aetius while the formidable invader was alive, now de¬ 
cided that he could rule alone, and “the last Roman” was 
openly murdered by Valentinian himself, supported by his 
guards. As one of his courtiers had the courage to tell 
him, the imperial assassin had acted “like a man who cuts 
off his right hand with his left.” He himself did not long 
survive the outrage. Incensed by a most shameful crime 
which Valentinian had committed against his domestic 
happiness, a wealthy senator named Petronius Maximus 
determined to rid the State of its degenerate head. He 
employed for the purpose two servants of the murdered 
Aetius, who were easily induced to avenge their master, 
and while observing some military sports Valentinian was 
stabbed to death in the very midst of his guards, not one 
of whom lifted a hand or voice in defence of their despised 
ruler. Thus perished the last Roman Emperor of the family 
of Theodosius, in the thirty-sixth year of his age and the 
thirtieth of his reign. 

Valentinian was married at an early age to his cousin 
Eudoxia, daughter of Theodosius II, Emperor of the East, 
and the beautiful and celebrated Athenais . 1 She bore him 
two daughters named Placidia and Eudoxia, and lived to 
destroy her husband’s murderer, although she herself per¬ 
ished in the catastrophe . 2 

1 Athenais was the daughter of an Athenian philosopher named Leontius. 
Before her marriage to Theodosius she renounced paganism and was bap¬ 
tized with the Christian name of Eudoxia, which had been that of her 
husband’s mother. 2 Post, page 368. 

[ 366 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 

Petronius Maximus : 455 a. d. In the assassination of 
the Emperor, Maximus was doubtless actuated as much by 
ambition as revenge. Possessed of ability, wealth, and rank 
—he had been twice consul and thrice praetorian prefect 
of Italy—his vanity was easily stirred by the plaudits of 
a large following of clients, who were prepared to salute 
him as Emperor as soon as the royal house of Theodosius 
should be extinct; and over the bleeding corpse of his vic¬ 
tim Maximus was unanimously proclaimed by Senate and 
people. His short reign of three months, full of misery for 
himself and for the family of the unfortunate Valentinian, 
ended in a terrible disaster which he indirectly brought 
down upon Rome. 

Upon the death of his wife, who did not long survive 
his elevation to the purple, Maximus at once compelled 
the widowed Empress Eudoxia to marry him, her eldest 
daughter Eudoxia being at the same time married to the 
Emperor s son Paladius. Having thus, as he supposed, es¬ 
tablished the hereditary succession of his family and at the 
same time humiliated that of his enemy, the revenge of 
Maximus appeared complete. But in this hour of his ap¬ 
parent triumph, all was imaginary, as it proved. Gnawed 
by remorse and a prey to terror, the Emperor mourned 
his lost happiness, exclaiming to a friend, “O fortunate 
Damocles, thy reign began and ended with the same 
dinner.” 

The proud Eudoxia, whose mourning, whether real or 
apparent, had been so shamefully outraged, determined 
herself to play a hand in the game of revenge. Unable to 
secure assistance from her family, whose power had been 
destroyed, she made secret overtures to Genseric, King of 
the Vandals. Assured that neither the soldiers—with whom 
Maximus was unpopular—nor the confederate barbarians 
[ 367 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

would oppose, the African monarch landed a powerful 
force at the mouth of the Tiber and summoned Rome to 
surrender. Maximus attempted to escape, but in his flight 
through the streets he was assaulted by the frenzied popu¬ 
lace and stoned to death, his mangled body being cast into 
the Tiber. Three days later Genseric entered the defence¬ 
less city, which during fourteen days was given over to 
pillage and rapine by the Moors and Vandals. When the 
barbarians finally set sail again, they took with them nearly 
all that had thus far been left of the splendor and magnifi¬ 
cence of public and private wealth; including the wonder¬ 
ful bronze roof of the Capitol, 1 and the holy instruments 
of Jewish worship which four centuries earlier had been 
brought by Titus from Jerusalem. Eudoxia herself did not 
escape the ruin which she had caused. Stripped of her 
jewels, the twice-widowed Empress, with her two daugh¬ 
ters, the only surviving descendants of the great Theodo¬ 
sius, was dragged an unhappy captive to Carthage. Six 
years later, soon after the death of the Emperor Majorian, 
Eudoxia and her youngest daughter, Placidia, were restored 
by Genseric, who, however, retained the eldest daughter as 
the wife, or rather captive, of his son, Hunneric. Placidia 
afterwards married the Emperor Olybrius, through which 
connection the family of Theodosius was propagated in the 
female line as far as the eighth generation. 2 

Avitus : 455-457 a. d. After the death of Aetius, whose 
vigor and military fame had kept the foes of the Empire 
in check, the barbarians soon became restless, and when 
Valentinian followed his great general to the grave, the 

1 The external gilding is said to have cost Domitian two million five hun¬ 
dred thousand pounds sterling. The ship which carried these relics was 
the only one of the fleet to suffer shipwreck. 2 Gibbon. 

[ 368 ] 



SARCOPHAGUS OF SAINT HELENA 







THE FINAL DECLINE 

storm broke. Realizing his personal unfitness to cope with 
the danger, Maximus wisely selected for that purpose a 
Gallic general named Avitus, who had been one of the 
ablest lieutenants of the murdered Aetius. 

After a lifetime of active employment in the public ser¬ 
vice, where he had distinguished himself alike in the civil 
and military branches, Avitus had withdrawn to a beauti¬ 
ful estate near Clermont, having determined to devote his 
remaining years to literature and the simple pleasures of 
rural life. But at the threshold of this peaceful existence 
he was overtaken by the messengers who bore the imperial 
rescript creating him praetorian prefect of Gaul. Unable to 
resist the temptation of an ambitious future, he immedi¬ 
ately assumed the military command, and after quelling 
the disturbance in Gaul proceeded to Toulouse, where 
he effected a solid alliance with Theodoric, King of the 
Goths. About this time news of the death of Maximus 
reached Gaul, and the provincials and barbarians, with 
whom Avitus had always been popular, at once proclaimed 
him Emperor. The consent of the Emperor of the East 
was readily obtained; but Rome and Italy, to which the 
Western Empire was now practically reduced, although 
formally assenting, were ill-pleased with the idea of being 
governed by the so-called “Gallic usurper.” 

In the hope of overcoming the hostility of the Romans, 
the new Emperor decided to fix his residence in the old 
capital, and announced his intention of accepting the con¬ 
sulship for the ensuing year. But in Rome loyalty to the 
sovereign had long been a dead idea. Scorned and disliked 
as a “foreigner,” Avitus speedily became an object of gen¬ 
uine hatred to the Romans; and supported by Count Rici- 
mer, the principal military commander in Italy, the Senate, 
disclosing a last glimmering spark in its bed of ashes, de- 
[ 369 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

manded its right, founded upon the ancient constitutions, 
of choosing an Emperor. Separated from his Gothic allies 
and his provincial supporters, Avitus, after a feeble show 
of resistance, abdicated the purple, in lieu of which he re¬ 
ceived from Ricimer the bishopric of Placentia. But the 
Senate, flushed with victory, decreed otherwise, and Avitus, 
in his flight towards the Alps in search of sanctuary, was 
overtaken and put to death. He had reigned about a year. 

Majorian: 457-461 a. d. The apparent triumph of the 
Senate, in the deposition of Avitus, as matter of fact left 
the State at the complete mercy of the barbarian com¬ 
mander of the Italian troops. Without troubling himself 
to first advise with the Conscript Fathers, Ricimer placed 
upon the throne another retired general named Julianus 
Majorianus. The new Emperor derived his name from 
his maternal grandfather, who in the reign of Theodosius 
had commanded the Illyrian troops. His father had been 
a loyal friend and faithful officer of Aetius, under whom 
Majorian received his military education. His rise had 
been so rapid and his successes so great, that he incurred 
the enmity of the wife of his patron, jealous for her hus¬ 
band’s reputation, which at times was eclipsed by that of 
the able and intrepid young officer, who was for that rea¬ 
son forced out of the service. Recalled and promoted after 
the death of Aetius, at the time of the deposition of Avitus 
he held the post of master-general of the cavalry and in¬ 
fantry, from which he was elevated to the purple by his 
friend the King-maker. 

The appointment was not only popular in its immediate 
results, but eminently wise; and for the last time in its his¬ 
tory Rome was blessed with an Emperor brave, virtuous, 
and capable. “The successor of Avitus,” says Gibbon, “pre- 
[ 370 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 

sents the welcome discovery of a great and heroic char¬ 
acter, such as sometimes arise in a degenerate age to vin¬ 
dicate the honor of the human species.” And while the 
history of his reign is imperfectly related, enough is known 
of his public and private actions to convince posterity that 
there was at least some foundation for the extravagant 
encomium of the historian Procopius, who declared “that 
he was gentle to his subjects, terrible to his enemies; and 
excelled in every virtue all his predecessors who had reigned 
over the Romans.” 

Appreciating, apparently, not only the fact of Rome’s 
decay but as well the causes of its decline, Majorian cour¬ 
ageously undertook the task of reform. It is known that 
he made many admirable laws, that he lightened the bur¬ 
dens of taxation, which had become unbearable, and that 
he even infused the degenerate Italians with some show 
of public spirit. At the same time he quelled the disorders 
in Gaul and displayed such vigor against the marauding 
Vandals who had long terrorized Rome, that Genseric was 
forced to promise that he would molest Italy no more. But 
for Rome, alas! all this was at best only the flickering fires 
of a long-spent energy. The love and respect which the 
Emperor inspired and the hold which he was acquiring 
upon the people at last aroused the jealousy of Ricimer, 
who was unwilling to be so entirely obscured by the glory 
of his friend. The King-maker’s influence with the army 
was still supreme, and with the help of his soldiers he 
speedily mastered the unsuspicious Emperor, whose virtue 
could not protect him against an unscrupulous ambition 
at the head of the guards. Majorian was compelled to ab¬ 
dicate, and by his death from poison five days afterwards, 
the fateful history of his immediate predecessor was re¬ 
peated. He had reigned four years. 

[ 871 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CiESAR 

The Six Shadows: 461-476 a. d. During the fifteen 
years which followed the death of Majorian, the ragged 
outlines of imperial power were rapidly obliterated by an 
almost uninterrupted series of invasions, revolutions, and 
frantic social convulsions. No less than six masqueraders 
in the imperial role emerged momentarily from the fast¬ 
gathering darkness, and one by one vanished in the flames 
which were licking up the last fragments of the structure 
of Augustus. A few brief references may suffice to consign 
these ghostly shadows to their several graves. 

While Ricimer preferred to rule under the personality of 
another, he determined not to again jeopardize his power by 
“the imprudent preference of superior virtue and merit.” 
Disclaiming for himself the title of either King or Em¬ 
peror, he bestowed the purple upon an obscure individual 
named Libius Severus, of whose birth and character noth¬ 
ing is known. “It would be useless,” says Gibbon, “to dis¬ 
criminate his nominal reign in the vacant interval of six 
years between the* death of Majorian and the elevation of 
Anthemius, since during that period the government was 
in the hands of Ricimer alone.” Severus expired as soon 
as his life became inconvenient to his patron; which oc¬ 
curred when the latter found himself unable to further 
withstand rebellion at home and the alarmingly increas¬ 
ing depredations of Genseric and his terrible Vandals. 
Himself destitute of ships, Ricimer was compelled to ap¬ 
peal for assistance to the Emperor of the East, which was 
accorded by Leo upon condition that the ancient preten¬ 
sions of Constantinople to the right of naming the sov¬ 
ereign of the West should be recognized. Ricimer was 
forced to consent—saving a bit of his pride by demanding 
and receiving as his wife the daughter of Anthemius, the 
new Emperor of Rome. The latter was a man of high 
[ 372 ] 





JULIAN 


























































































































































































f.. 
















































































































































THE FINAL DECLINE 

birth and station. His father, Procopius, had obtained the 
rank of general and patrician, his grandfather was the cele¬ 
brated prefect who directed affairs during the infancy of 
the younger Theodosius, while he himself had married the 
daughter of the Emperor Marcian. His elevation to the 
purple was universally approved, and the alliance with 
Ricimer seemed to furnish an enduring promise for the 
union and happiness of the State. But the King-maker 
soon tired of both his bride and his subordinate position 
in affairs. Retiring to Milan, he opened a treasonable corre¬ 
spondence with Anicius Olybrius, an ambitious noble who 
had married Placidia, the younger daughter of Valentinian 
III, after she had been restored by Genseric. 1 Olybrius 
was quite willing to exchange a peaceful residence at Con¬ 
stantinople for the hazards of the Roman people; landing 
at Ravenna he joined Ricimer and together the conspira¬ 
tors marched on Rome. After a terrible battle 2 Anthemius 
was slain, the city was taken and given over to pillage, and 
Olybrius declared Emperor. The King-maker, however, 
died in the midst of his triumph, and Olybrius himself 
followed in less than six months (October, 472 a. d.). 

Ricimer had bequeathed the command of his army to 
his nephew Gundobald, a Burgundian prince; and assum¬ 
ing that his prerogatives included that of nominating a 
successor to the purple, Gundobald selected for that pur¬ 
pose an obscure soldier named Glycerius. In the mean¬ 
time the Emperor of the East at the instance of his wife 
was persuaded to nominate for the Roman purple Julius 
Nepos, who had married a niece of the Empress. Accom- 

1 Ante y page 368. 

2 It was in this battle that the statues and bronzes which embellished the 
tomb of Hadrian were thrown down by the Goths, whose ammunition 
had been exhausted in defence of the bridge of St. Angelo. 

[ 373 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

panied by a few troops Nepos came over from the Eastern 
capital and easily became master of what was left of Rome 
—including the miserable Glycerius. To the latter Nepos 
offered the choice between death and a bishopric. Glycerius 
accepted the see, and, more fortunate than Avitus, 1 lived 
to enjoy both the dignity and an ultimate revenge. 2 

The reign of Nepos was short and inglorious. Vainly 
endeavoring to purchase immunity from barbaric invasion 
by ceding Auvergne to the Visigoths, within a year from 
his accession the Emperor fled in dismay from a furious 
onslaught by the barbarian confederates under Orestes. 
Escaping to his ships, Nepos crossed the Adriatic and re¬ 
tired to his Dalmatian principality, where five years later 
he was murdered by Glycerius, who shortly afterwards be¬ 
came the Archbishop of Milan. 

After the expulsion of Nepos (475 a. d.) Orestes, with 
the consent of the army, of which he had been made the 
master-general by the last Emperor, presented the purple 
to his son Romulus Augustus—or Augustulus (Little Au¬ 
gustus), as he was called on account of his youth. The 
boy Emperor, who was noted for his extreme beauty (and 
apparently for that alone), took his name from his mother, 
who was the daughter of Count Romulus of Petovio, in 
Noricum. The name of Augustus was, at this time, a not 
uncommon surname; and the appellations of the two great 
founders of the city and of the Empire were thus strangely 
united in the last of their successors. 3 

Orestes had now attained the summit of his ambition— 

1 Ante , page 370. 2 See below. 

3 Gibbon, Decline and Fall , Vol. iii. page 513. The author notes a famous 
and similar case: “The meanest subjects of the Roman Empire assumed 
the illustrious name of Patricias, which, by the conversion of Ireland, has 
been communicated to a whole nation.” 

[ 374 ] 


THE FINAL DECLINE 

in the same moment at which the Empire reached the 
last stair in its descent. Scarcely had Romulus been pro¬ 
claimed before the troops, whose insolence had become un¬ 
bounded after years of unbridled license, demanded of their 
general that one-third of all the lands in Italy should be 
divided among them! Orestes sharply refused; whereupon 
the troops, under a huge warrior named Odoacer, marched 
against Orestes, besieged him in Pavia, which finally 
yielded, and the father of Augustulus was put to death. 
The helpless young Emperor was taken to Rome by the 
conqueror, who, however, spared the inoffensive youth and 
dismissed him from the imperial palace with his whole 
family, to enjoy a pension for life in the castle of Lucul- 
lus, in Campania (476 a. d.). Odoacer and his barbarians 
remained at last the masters of the Palatine. Their royalty 
was acknowledged by Senate and people; it was decreed 
by the former that no more Emperors should be chosen, 
and that the Emperor of the East might take also the 
title of Emperor of the West, which Rome repudiated 
forever. 

Thus ended the Empire of Rome, in strange coincidence 
with the prophecy of the early augurs that the twelve vul¬ 
tures which Romulus had seen represented twelve centu¬ 
ries before the downfall of the city would occur. 1 But as a 
great philosopher has observed, the fall of the Empire was 
announced “by a clearer omen than the flight of vultures: 
the Roman government appeared each day less formidable 
to its enemies , more odious and oppressive to its subjects .” 

1 These interpretations of the augurs were current as early as the time of 
Cicero and Varro. According to the latter the twelfth century would ex¬ 
pire 447 a. d. ; there was, however, enough uncertainty as to the true era 
of the city to bring the fact of its overthrow in remarkably close accord 
with the prophecies. 


C 375 ] 


THE HOUSE OF CAESAR 

Freedom, virtue, power, and honor had long been lost. 
The name of Roman citizenship, which formerly excited 
the ambition of humanity as the highest guaranty of indi¬ 
vidual safety and dignity, and of personal rights, had been 
scorned and abjured as a badge of servility and personal 
wretchedness. Towards the end nothing remained to indi¬ 
cate that Rome claimed a place among the sovereignties 
of the world except the bare idea of the imperial office 
which a few mad actors in the conspiracy for power at¬ 
tempted to keep alive by a bit of purple cloth, a diadem , 1 
and title. This last frail thread had snapped at last. A bar¬ 
barian was firmly established upon the Palatine, as King. 
The proud title of Augustus had been forsworn. The name 
of the last Emperor of the West had been written. The 
might of Caesar was broken. Rome was dead. 

Romulus Augustus and Romulus Augustulus, with their 
connecting links of Kings, consuls, tyrants, and Emperors, 
had spanned one of the most tremendous episodes in world 
history. But what remains to-day of all that mighty power 
which had enthroned itself so massively upon the Seven 
Hills of the sacred city? Cemented by the misty tradi¬ 
tions of the Age of Fable, by the refulgent glories of the 
Republic, by the grandeur and magnificence of Augustus, 
to the successors of the first Julian it may well have ap¬ 
peared forever impregnable. But in the irresistible march 
of events, and under the relentless hand of time, as in the 
case of every other human creation, in all ages, decay set 
in, it crumbled, gave way, its fragments were destroyed, 
its very dust scattered to the four winds. So that to-day 
a few impressive ruins, a few discolored and mutilated 

1 The Emperor Aurelian first introduced the Oriental custom of wearing 
the royal diadem, which was bound upon the forehead. 

[ 376 ] 



« 


ANI) OF THE PALACES OF TIBERIUS AND CALIGULA 
























































































































































































































































































— 

















































































































* 

































THE FINAL DECLINE 


marbles, a handful of corroded coins, alone reward the 
curious search for material proof of the purple mantle, the 
curule chair, and the august Emperors of Rome. So true 
indeed it is 

“ The bust outlasts the throne. 

The coin , Tiberius 








INDICES 



INDICES 


INDEX: PART I 


A cerronia, Agrippina’s freedwo- 
l, man, gives her life for her 
mistress, 145, 146. 

Acte, a favorite of Nero, 139; said 
to have become a Christian, per¬ 
forms the last offices for Nero, 
167. 

Adoption, the fiction of, 55. 

Afer, Domitius, the orator, accuses 
Claudia Pulchra of witchcraft, 64. 
Afranius, Burrhus, commands the 
praetorians, 130; helps Nero se¬ 
cure the purple, 131; influence 
over Nero, 140; death of, 147. 
Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius, minis¬ 
ter of Augustus, marries Pompo- 
nia, 36; marries Marcella and at 
command of Augustus divorces 
her and marries Julia, the Em¬ 
peror’s daughter, 34; his high 
character and ability, 35; his 
death, 36. 

Agrippa, Postumus, son of Agrippa, 

36; his coarse nature and unruly 
disposition, banished by Augus¬ 
tus, 42; disinherited by Augustus, 
put to death by Li via and Tibe¬ 
rius, 45. 

Agrippina, Vipsania, daughter of 
Agrippa, marries Tiberius, di¬ 
vorced by him, marries Asinius 
Gallus, 36. 

Agrippina (1), granddaughter of 
Augustus, 36; marries Germani- 
cus, 41; care of her children, 63; 
falsely accused by Sejanus and 
Livia, banished by Tiberius, her 
two eldest sons murdered, starves 

[ 381 


herself to death, 64. S. Baring- 
Gould’s Estimate of, Note to 
Chap. XII, 182. 

Agrippina, mother of Nero, daugh¬ 
ter of Germanicus and the elder 
Agrippina, 60; banished by Ca¬ 
ligula, 87; recalled by Claudius, 
117; marries Passienus, 117; poi¬ 
sons her husband to secure his 
wealth, 118; her character, 118; 
her marriage to Claudius—in¬ 
duces him to betroth Octavia to 
Nero, and to adopt the latter, 
118-121; her hatred of Lepida, 
121; procures the death of Lepida 
and confiscates her great estate, 
123; poisons Claudius, 124; plots 
to supplant Britannicus with Nero, 
121, 129; overcomes all obstacles 
and her son is proclaimed, 130, 
131; compared with Livia Au¬ 
gusta, 130; heartless conduct of, 
towards Octavia and Britannicus, 
131; at the summit of her power 
receives the name of “Best of 
Mothers” from Nero, 132; her 
power over Nero undermined by 
Seneca and Burrhus, 140; dismay 
at murder of Britannicus, 142; 
attaches herself to Octavia, 143; 
accused of conspiracy by Domitia 
Lepida, ibid.; successfully defends 
herself, 144; narrow escape from 
death, 145; murdered by Anice- 
tus at Nero’s command, 146; her 
great fortitude, ibid.; her mem¬ 
ory execrated by Nero, 147. S. 
Baring-Gould’s Estimate of. Note 
to Chap. XII, 182. 

] 


INDEX: 

Ahenobarbus, cognomen of the fam¬ 
ily of Nero, derivation of the 
word, 125. 

Ahenobarbus, Lucius Domitius, the 
founder of the family, 125. 

Ahenobarbus, Cneius Domitius, 
great-great-grandfather of Nero, 
126 . 

Ahenobarbus, Cneius, great-grand¬ 
father of Nero, 126 . 

Ahenobarbus, Domitius, grand¬ 
father of Nero, 126 . 

Ahenobarbus, Cneius Domitius, fa¬ 
ther of Nero, 126 . 

Ahenobarbus, Domitius. See Nero. 

Alexander, son of Mark Antony 
and Cleopatra, 23 (note). 

Ancharia, first wife of Caius Octa¬ 
vius, 20. 

Anicetus, Nero’s admiral, attempts 
to drown Agrippina, 145; mur¬ 
ders Agrippina, 146; lodges a false 
and shameful accusation against 
Octavia, his reward therefor, 151. 

Antistia, wife of Plautus, murdered 
by Nero, 159* 

Antonia, wife of Antony, 23 (note). 

Antonia, the elder, daughter of 
Antony and Octavia, marries 
Drusus, brother of Tiberius, 33; 
poisoned by Caligula, 88. 

Antonia, the younger, daughter of 
Antony and Octavia and grand¬ 
mother of Nero, marries Aheno¬ 
barbus, 106. 

Antonia, daughter of the Emperor 
Claudius, marries Cneius Pompey 
and after his death Cornelius 
Sylla, 113; after the murder of 
Sylla by Nero, she refuses to 
marry the latter and is put to 
death, 154. 

Antony, Mark, the triumvir, 21; 


PART i 

marries Cleopatra, his family, his 
death, 23. 

Antony, Julius, son of Mark An¬ 
tony and Fulvia, 23 (note), 35. 

Antony, Lucius, illegitimate son of 
the fifth Julia, is exiled, 41. 

Antyllus, son of Mark Antony and 
Fulvia, 23 (note). 

Apicata, divorced wife of Sejanus, 
commits suicide upon learning of 
murder of her children, 67. 

Arria, wife of Thrasea Paetus, offers 
to share her husband’s fate, 162 . 

Arria, mother of the wife of Paetus, 
heroic anecdote of, 162 (note). 

Asiaticus, Valerius, the consul, his 
fine gardens on the Pincian Hill 
coveted by Messalina, his bravery 
and high bearing, his murder by 
Messalina, 114. 

Atticus, Pompon ius, the friend of 
Cicero, father-in-law of Agrippa, 
16, 36. 

Augusta. See Li via. 

Augusta, infant daughter of Nero 
and Poppaea, 154. 

Augustus. See Caesar Augustus. 

B 

Barbatus, M. Valerius Messala, fa¬ 
ther of Messalina, 108. 

Barbatus, Messala, consul, husband 
of Marcella Minor, 109. 

Baring-Gould, S., his attempt to 
vindicate the characters of Tibe¬ 
rius, Li via, and Agrippina Minor, 
Note to Chap. XII, 182. 

Blandus, Rubellius, husband of 
Julia, granddaughter of Tiberius, 
111 . 

Bologna Compact, 22, 25, 30. 

Britannicus (Tiberius Claudius 
Germanicus), son of Claudius and 
Messalina, 110; supplanted by 


[ 382 ] 


INDEX: PART I 


Nero, 120, 121; grief of, upon his 
father’s death, 131; poisoned by 
Nero, 140 (note), 141, 142. 

Brutus, one of Caesar’s murder¬ 
ers, 8. 

Burrhus. See Afranius. 

c 

Cesar Augustus, first Roman Em¬ 
peror, adopted by his great- 
uncle, Julius Caesar, and assumes 
the name of Caius Caesar, in 
place of Caius Octavius, 20; his 
birth and ancestry, ibid.; plans 
to acquire supreme power and 
forms the Second Triumvirate, 
21-2 ; Plutarch’s estimate of his 
first great crime, 22; the Tri¬ 
umvirate enlarged, 23; seizes the 
entire power, establishes the 
praetorian guard, declines the of¬ 
fice of dictator for life, assumes 
the title of Augustus, and be¬ 
comes first Roman Emperor, 24, 

27; personal appearance and 
traits, military talents, 24-5; 
his character, 25-6; accomplish¬ 
ments of his reign, 26-7; ac¬ 
corded the titles of “ Father of 
his Country” and “Imperator” 
and most of the important offices 
of the State united in him for 
life, including that of Pontifex 
Maximus, 27-8; marries Claudia, 
divorces her and marries Scri- 
bonia, 30; birth of his only 
daughter, Julia, divorces her 
mother and marries Livia, 31; 
great solicitude about Julia, his 
only direct heir, 33; marries her 
to Marcellus, and after his death 
to Agrippa, 34; his great regard 
for Agrippa and joy at births 
of his five grandchildren, 35-6; 
adopts his grandsons, Caius and 
Lucius, 37; after death of Agrippa 
marries Julia to Tiberius, 37; be¬ 

[ 383 


cause of her immorality divorces 
and banishes her, harsh remark 
about Julia, 38; murder of his 
adoptive sons, 38-9; banishes his 
granddaughter Julia, 40; evil fate 
of his posterity, 39, 40; induced 
by Livia to adopt Tiberius jointly 
with his grandson Postumus 
Agrippa, banishes Postumus, 42 ; 
compels Tiberius to adopt Ger- 
manicus, 43; circumstances of 
his death, in regard to which 
there were conflicting rumors, 
43-4; probably not murdered, 
44; death-bed remark, popular 
estimate of his character, his 
true place in history, 28-9; his 
last will, speaks of his daughter, 
grandson, and granddaughter as 
“the three cancers,” 43, 45. 

Caesar, Caius Julius, pedigree of, 
4-5; etymology of name, 5; his 
birth and early youth, tender re¬ 
lations with his mother, 6; first 
betrothed to Cossutia, repudiates 
the engagement and marries Cor¬ 
nelia, 6; refuses to divorce Cor¬ 
nelia at command of Sylla and 
is outlawed, Sylla’s prophecy in 
regard to him, 7 ; birth and mar¬ 
riage of his daughter, death of 
Cornelia, marriage to Pompeia 
and divorce from her, 7; marries 
Calpumia, 8; after death of his 
daughter adopts Caius Octavius, 
his grandnephew, and names him 
in his will as chief heir, 20; 
his assassination, 3, 8; Goethe’s 
characterization of his murder, 
4; founder of the Empire, 8, 9; 
personal appearance and habits, 
10, 12; never lost a battle, 13; 
personal traits, 13; commenced 
life as a lawyer, his remarkable 
energy, ability, and versatility, 
Cicero's estimate of his powers 
of oratory and literary abilities, 

] 


INDEX: PART I 


14; his place in the roll of great 
men, 15; claim to preeminent 
greatness questioned, his im¬ 
mense debts, moral defects, 15, 
16 ; his love of power—com¬ 
pared with Washington, Lincoln, 
Cromwell, Napoleon, 17, 19; re¬ 
fuses to be made King, Walpole’s 
estimate of, 19; popular estimate 
of, remarkable demonstration at 
his funeral, 17 (note); his true 
place in the evolution of man¬ 
kind, 3, 4, 19. 

Cesar, Caius, the Emperor, com¬ 
monly called Caligula, 75; adopted 
jointly with Tiberius Gemellus 
by Tiberius, ibid.; murders Ge¬ 
mellus and assumes entire sov¬ 
ereignty, 76; his birth, ancestry, 
and early life, ibid.; personal 
traits and character, 77-81; mar¬ 
ries Junia Claudia, 82; murders 
Silanus, Graecinas, Ennia Naevia, 
Macro, and Ptolemy, 84; marries 
Livia Orestilla, ibid.; divorces 
Orestilla and marries his sister 
Drusilla, 85; murders Lepidus 
and Gaetulicus, 87; banishes his 
sisters Julia and Agrippina, 88 ; 
poisons his grandmother, ibid.; 
his horse Incitatus, 89; marries 
Lollia Paulina, 89; dismisses her, 
90 , and marries Milonia Caesonia, 
91 ; his mental and bodily un¬ 
soundness caused by “love phil¬ 
ters” administered by Caesonia, 
91; birth of his only child, Julia 
Drusilla, 92; a plot formed to kill 
him, 92 ; his death and burial, 
93; his death termed a “virtuous 
slaughter” by the historian Jo¬ 
sephus, 96 . 

Cesar, Caius, grandson of Augus¬ 
tus, 36; marries Livia, niece of 
Tiberius, 39; his death, 38. 

Caesar, Lucius, uncle of Mark An¬ 
tony, 22. 


CAESAR, Lucius, grandson of Augus¬ 
tus, 36 ; his death, 38. 

CiESARio, reputed son of Julius 
Caesar and Cleopatra, 8. 

CiEsoNiA, Milonia, wife of Caligula, 
her sensuality, administers “love 
philters” to her husband, 91; 
murdered by Lupus, 94. 

CiESAR, Tiberius. See Tiberius. 

C^sar, House of, establishes the 
imperialistic idea, 24; causes of 
its destruction, 179 et seq. 

Caligula. See Caius Caesar. 

Calpurnia, wife of Julius Caesar, 8. 

C alvina, Junia, great-great-grand- 
daughter of Augustus, marries 
the son of Vitellius (afterwards 
Emperor), is banished by Clau¬ 
dius, 119 . 

Cassius, one of Caesar’s murderers, 8. 

Cassius, Lucius, husband of Drusilla, 
daughter of Germanicus, 85. 

Cassius, Longinus. See Longinus. 

CHiEREA, Cassius, conspires against 
Caligula, 92; kills the Emperor, 
93; put to death by Claudius, 101. 

Christians, persecuted by Nero, 152. 

Cicero, his estimate of Caesar, 14; 
his attack upon the Triumvirate, 
21; his murder at the instance 
of Antony, 22. 

Cinna, the consul, colleague of the 
younger Marius, father-in-law of 
Julius Caesar, 6. 

Claudia, first wife of Augustus, 30. 

Claudia, Junia, wife of Caligula, 82. 

Claudia, daughter of the Emperor 
Claudius, murdered by him, 105. 

Claudianus, Livius Drusus, father- 
in-law of Augustus, 31. 

Claudius Caesar, the Emperor, pro¬ 
claimed by the praetorians after 
the death of Caligula, 96-7; his 


[ 384 ] 


INDEX: PART I 


birth and early education, 98, 
101; personal traits and char¬ 
acter, 100, 103; marries iEmilia 
Lepida, is divorced from her and 
marries Medullina, after whose 
death he marries Urgulanilla, 
104; repudiates his third wife 
and marries Paetina, 105; divorces 
Paetina, 106 , and marries Messa- 
lina, 109 ; who prompts him to 
family murder, 111; murders his 
two nieces, 111, and Appius J. 
Silanus, 112; murders his son- 
in-law Pompey, Crassus Frugi, 
and Scribonia, 113; unconcerned 
at Messalina’s death, but declares 
he will never marry again, 116 ; 
marries his niece Agrippina, 118; 
marries his daughter to Nero, 
120; adopts Nero, 121; consents 
to the murder of Lepida, 123; is 
poisoned by Agrippina, 124. 

Claudius, Publius, father-in-law of 
Augustus, 30. 

Claudius, Tiberius. See Britannicus. 

Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, 8. 

Cleopatra, daughter of Antony and 
Cleopatra, 23 (note). 

Clodius, the quaestor, whose con¬ 
duct caused the divorce of Caesar’s 
wife Pompeia, 7. 

Cornelia, second wife of Julius 
Caesar, 6. 

Cossutia, first wife of Julius Caesar, 6. 

Cotta, Aurelia, mother of Julius 
Caesar, her tender relations with 
her son, her death, 5, 6. 

Crassus, triumvir, 21. 

Crispinus, Rufius, commander of the 
praetorians, removed by Agrip¬ 
pina, 129; murdered by Nero, 153. 

Crispinus, Rufinus, son of Poppaea, 
drowned by Nero, 153. 

Cromwell, compared with Caesar, 
18, 19 . 


D 

Descent, difficulty of tracing 
through the female line, 106-7. 

Domestic murder among the Ro¬ 
mans, 10, 24, 32, 61, 167, 173. 

Drusilla, Livia. See Livia Augusta. 

Drusilla, sister and wife of Calig¬ 
ula, 85; marries her cousin Lepi- 
dus, 86; her death and apotheo¬ 
sis, 87. 

Drusilla, Julia, daughter of Calig¬ 
ula, murdered by Lupus, 94. 

Drusus, brother of Tiberius, 31 ; his 
birth, 47; his military exploits 
and great reputation, 77; marries 
Antonia, 33; his death in Ger¬ 
many and magnificent funeral at 
Rome, 77. 

Drusus, son of Tiberius, his early 
life, 55-6; marries Livia, 56; birth 
of his three children, ibid.; poi¬ 
soned by his wife Livia, 63. 

Drusus, son of Claudius, his death, 
105. 

Drusus, son of Germanicus, marries 
iEmilia Lepida, murdered by Ti¬ 
berius, his frenzied imprecations 
against the Emperor, 69- 

E 

Epaphroditus, secretary of Nero, 
assists the Emperor to commit 
suicide, 166 . 

Eudemus, physician employed by 
Livia, the younger, to poison her 
husband, confesses the crime, 63. 

F 

Favia, wife of Mark Antony, 23 
(note). 

Frugi, Crassus, murder of, 113. 

Fulvia, wife of Mark Antony, 23 
(note). 


INDEX: 

G 

GiETULicus, Lentulus, consul, con¬ 
spires against Caligula and is 
put to death, 87. 

Gallus, Asinius, husband of Vip- 
sania Agrippina, 36; his death, 37. 

Germanicus, his birth, ancestry, and 
character, 57-8; adopted by Ti¬ 
berius, 43; marries Agrippina, 
60; sent to Syria by Tiberius, 
poisoned by Piso at instigation 
of Li via, 59; his children, 60 , 6l. 

Goethe, his characterization of Cae¬ 
sar’s murder, 4. 

Golden House of Nero, 134. 

Gracchus, Sempronius, one of the 
lovers of Julia, 37; killed by or¬ 
der of Tiberius, 38. 

Gr^ecinas, Julius, father of Agricola, 
put to death by Caligula, 84. 

H 

Hereditary succession among the 
Romans, 74, 130 (note 2). 

House of Caesar. See Caesar. 

I 

Imperial Disease, 173. 

Imperial Marriages, Analysis of, 
173-6; conclusions in regard to, 
176-9; tables of, 202-4. 

Imperial Murders, Analysis of, 
168-73; conclusions in regard 
to, 173; tables of the victims, 
195-9; of those who escaped a 
violent death, 200, 201. 

J 

Julia (1), aunt of Julius Caesar, 
wife of Marius, 4. 

y / Julia (2), sister of Julius Caesar, 21. 

Julia (3), only child of Julius Caesar, 
her marriage to Pompey, her 
death, 7. 


PART I 

Julia (4), daughter of Augustus, 
birth of, early life, beauty and 
great ability of, extreme profli¬ 
gacy, 33; marries Marcellus, then 
Agrippa, 34; her five children, 
36; marries Tiberius, her great 
depravity, repudiation by her hus¬ 
band, her banishment and miser¬ 
able death, 37-8. 

Julia (5), granddaughter of Augus¬ 
tus, 3o; marries L. iEmilius Pau- 
lus, 39; her descendants, 39, 40; 
her dissolute life, banishment, 
and death, 40. 

Julia (6), granddaughter of Tibe¬ 
rius, 56; marries Nero, son of 
Germanicus, betrays her husband, 
66; marries Rubellius Blandus, 
71; put to death by Claudius and 
Messalina, 111. 

Julia (7), daughter of Germanicus, 
her birth, 6l; put to death by 
Claudius, 111. 

Julius, Caius, grandfather of Julius 
Caesar, 5. 

Julius, Caius Julius, father of Julius 
Caesar, 5. 

Julius, Sextus, uncle of Julius Cae¬ 
sar, 5. 

L 

Lepida, iEmilia, granddaughter of 
Augustus, marries Claudius, 104; 
marries Silanus, 40; their chil¬ 
dren, ibid. 

Lepida, ^Emilia, wife of Drusus, 
son of Germanicus, murdered by 
Tiberius, 69- 

Lepida, Domitia, Nero’s aunt, fre¬ 
quently confounded with her 
elder sister of same name, 
106-7; marries Crispus Passienus, 
108; put to death by Nero, 148. 

Lepida (Domitia), Nero’s aunt, fre¬ 
quently confounded with her 
younger sister of same name. 


[ 386 ] 


INDEX: 

106-7; usually spoken of as Lep- 
ida, more brilliant and notorious 
than her younger sister, marries 
M. Valerius Messala Barbatus, 
108; marries Silanus, 112; ad¬ 
vises Messalina to commit sui¬ 
cide, 116 ; rivalry between her¬ 
self and Agrippina, 122; accused 
of “magic” by Agrippina and 
put to death by Claudius, 123. 

Lepida, Junia, aunt of Lucius Junius 
Silanus, wife of Cassius Longinus, 
157; shameful accusation against, 
her banishment and death, 158. 

Lepidus, Caesar’s master" of the 
horse, one of the triumvirs, 21; 
high priest of Rome, 23. 

Lepidus, Marcus, great-grandson of 
Augustus, 40; marries his cousin 
Drusilla, 86; put to death by 
Caligula, 87. 

Lex Julia, severe workings of, 83. 

Libo, P. Scribonius, father-in-law of 
Augustus, 30. 

Lincoln, compared with Caesar, 18. 

Livia Augusta, the Empress, wife 
of Augustus, 30; marries the Em¬ 
peror while her first husband, Ti¬ 
berius Nero, is living and undi¬ 
vorced from her, 31; introduces 
the practice of domestic murder 
among the Romans, 32; its per¬ 
nicious consequences, 10, 24, 6l, 
167, 173; her great beauty, 32; 
poisons Marcellus, 34; suspected 
of poisoning her stepsons, 38; 
alienates Augustus from his 
daughter, 37; instigates Piso to 
poison Germanicus, 59; fatal con¬ 
sequences to the family of Au¬ 
gustus, 6l; accuses Agrippina, 
63; suspected of poisoning Au¬ 
gustus, 43; her death, 70. S. 
Baring-Gould’s Estimate of. Note 
to Chap. XII, 182. 

Livia, daughter of Drusus and An- 


PART I 

tonia, marries first Caius Caesar, 
second, her cousin Drusus, son of 
Tiberius, 39; her disgrace, 62; 
poisons her husband, 63; her 
wretched ending, 66, 67. 

Locusta, court poisoner of Agrip¬ 
pina and Nero, 124, 141, 164. 

Longinus, Cassius, preceptor of the 
last Silanus, 157; falsely accused 
of conspiracy, is banished, his 
death, 158. 

Lupus, Julius, a tribune, kills the 
wife and daughter of Caligula, 
94; is put to death by Claudius, 
101 . 

M 

Macro, captain of the guards, mur¬ 
ders Tiberius, 73; put to death 
by Caligula, 84. 

Marcella, daughter of Octavia, 
first wife of Agrippa, 34. 

Marcella, second daughter of Oc¬ 
tavia, 201. 

Marcellus, first husband of the 
younger Octavia, 20. 

Marcellus, Claudius, nephew of 
Augustus, celebrated by Virgil, 
marries the fourth Julia, his 
death, 34. 

Marcia, grandmother of Julius Cae¬ 
sar, 5. 

Marcius, Ancus, fourth King of 
Rome, an ancestor of Julius Cae¬ 
sar, 5. 

Marius, Caius, husband of the first 
Julia, 5. 

Marius (the younger), colleague of 
Cinna, cousin of Julius Caesar, 5. 

Medullina, Livia, wife of Caligula, 
104. 

Messalina, the Empress, her ances¬ 
try and marriage to Claudius, 109; 
her great beauty, immorality, and 
influence over her husband, 109, 


[ 387 ] 


INDEX: PART I 


110; instigates the Emperor to 
commit various crimes, 111; poi¬ 
sons Vinicius, 112; compels Si- 
lius to divoree his wife, 114; her 
infamous marriage to Silius dur¬ 
ing the absence of Claudius, 115; 
her flight to the gardens of Lu- 
cullus, upon the return of Clau¬ 
dius, 115; the visit of her mother 
and her death, 116 . 

Messalina, Statilia, last wife of 
Nero, 155; survives his death, 
156. 

Milady Clarik, cited against con¬ 
clusions of character drawn from 
physiognomy, 184 {note). 

N 

NiEviA, Ennia, Macro’s wife, mis¬ 
tress of Caligula, who engages 
to marry her when he shall be¬ 
come Emperor, 78; murder of, 84. 

Napoleon, anecdote of, 3; compared 
with Caesar, 18. 

Nero, Tiberius Claudius, first hus¬ 
band of the Empress Livia, 31; 
his life, 46; his death, 47. 

Nero, Tiberius. See Tiberius. 

Nero, son of Germanicus, marries 
his cousin Julia, falsely accused 
by her, 66; is banished by Tibe¬ 
rius, his death, 67. 

Nero, fifth Roman Emperor, 125; 
inherits a cruel disposition from 
his paternal ancestors, 126 ; the 
product of a remarkable ances¬ 
try, 127; his birth, early signs of 
promise, saying attributed to his 
father, 128; after banishment of 
his mother and death of his fa¬ 
ther, lives with his aunt, Lepida, 
ibid.; Messalina seeks to destroy 
him, 129; his early hatred of 
Britannicus, marriage with Oc- 
tavia, 129; supplants Britannicus, 


proclaimed Emperor by the Sen¬ 
ate and the guard, 131; personal 
appearance, 133; love of the fine 
arts, 133; performs upon the 
stage, drives his chariot in the 
Circus Maximus, 133-4; great 
extravagance, 134; wonders of 
his palace, called the “ Golden 
House," 135; early years of his 
reign distinguished by mildness 
and clemency, 135-6; malign in¬ 
fluence of Poppaea largely respon¬ 
sible for his later wickedness, 
136; Augustine’s opinion: “the 
most finished pattern of wicked 
rulers,” ibid.; popular belief that 
he survived as “Antichrist,” ibid.; 
marries Octavia, 137; despises his 
beautiful wife and forms a con¬ 
nection with Acte, 139; breaks 
away from his mother’s influence, 
140; alarmed by his mother’s 
threats, he poisons Britannicus, 
141; attempts to drown his 
mother, 145; murders his mother, 
146; execrates her memory, 147; 
murders Seneca and Burrhus, 
147; murders Plautus, Sylla, and 
Domitia Lepida, 148; divorces 
Octavia and marries Poppaea, 
149, 150; banishes Octavia, but 
forced to recall her by the peo¬ 
ple, 150; murders Octavia, 151; 
birth and death of his only child, 
152; persecutes the Christians, 
152; horrible crimes committed 
by him, 153; murders Poppaea, 
her first husband and son, 153; 
is refused in marriage by Antonia, 
half-sister of Octavia, and mur¬ 
ders her, 154; murders Piso— 
“the City thronged with funerals, 
the Capitol with victims," 155; 
marries Statilia Messalina, mur¬ 
ders her husband Vestinus, 155-6; 
banishes Cassius Longinus and at¬ 
tempts to kill him, murders Junia 


[ 388 ] 


INDEX: PART I 


Lepida and Lucius Junius Silanus, 
his last male relative of the blood 
of Augustus, 158; murders Lu¬ 
cius Vetus, Antistia, and Sextia, 
160 ; murders Bareas Soranus,Ser- 
vilia, and Thrasea Paetus, l6l, 162 ; 
revolt of the Gauls, 162; Nero’s 
unconcern, revolt of Galba and 
the Spanish province, his fear and 
remorse, 163; procures poison as 
a final resource, plans escape to 
Parthia, abandoned by his friends 
and servants, leaves the Golden 
House forever, 164; escapes to 
Phaon’s villa, his abject sufferings 
and miserable death on the an¬ 
niversary of Octavia’s murder, 
165-6; his remains buried by 
Acte on the Pincian Hill, 167. 

O 

Octavia Major, daughter of Octa¬ 
vius and Ancharia, 20; confused 
with her half-sister, Octavia, the 
sister of Augustus, 20, 120. 

Octavia Minor, sister of Augustus, 
wife of Marcellus, and of Mark 
Antony, 20; mother of the two 
Antonias, 108; estimates of her 
character, 190; died from natural 
causes, 200. 

Octavia, daughter of the Emperor 
Claudius, betrothed first to Lu¬ 
cius Silanus, 119; then to Nero, 
120; her birth, grief of, upon her 
father’s death, 137; married to 
Nero, 139; her sweet disposition 
and elevated character, was prob¬ 
ably a Christian, 139; grief at the 
murder of her brother, 142; di¬ 
vorced by Nero, 149; banished, re¬ 
called by Nero because of the rage 
of the people, 150; falsely accused 
by Anicetus, banished to Panda- 
taria and there brutally mur¬ 
dered, 151; said to have been bap¬ 
tized by the Apostle Peter, 152. 


Octavius, Caius. See Caesar Augustus. 

Octavius, Caius, father of Augustus, 

20 . 

Ollius, Titus, father of Poppaea, 
murdered by Sejanus, 153. 

Orestilla, Livia, wife of Caligula, 84. 

P 

Putina, iElia, wife of the Emperor 
Claudius, is divorced by him, 106 . 

PiETUs, Thrasea, his elevated char¬ 
acter, rouses the hatred of Nero, 
160 ; condemned to death “ on gen¬ 
eral principles,” l6l; his heroic 
death, 162. 

Paris, an actor, accuses Agrippina 
of conspiracy, 143. 

Passienus, Crispus, the orator, mar¬ 
ries Domitia Lepida, 108; after 
her death marries Agrippina, 117; 
poisoned by his wife, 117. 

Paulina, Lollia, wife of Caligula, 89, 
90 ; her murder by Agrippina and 
her immense fortune, 120. 

Paulus, Lucius iEmilius, husband of 
the fifth Julia, 39; his death, 41. 

Pedius, Quintus, cousin of Augustus, 

20 . 

Phaon, freedman of Nero, offers the 
deposed Emperor an asylum, 164. 

Physiognomy vs. Tacitus and Plu¬ 
tarch, 183-4, 190. 

Pinarius, Lucius, cousin of Augus¬ 
tus, 20. 

Piso, Caius, husband of Livia Ores¬ 
tilla, who is taken from him by 
Caligula, 84; regains his wife 
after her divorce by Caligula, 
85. 

Piso, Cneius, governor of Syria, 
poisons Germanicus, 59, 60 ; com¬ 
mits suicide, 60. 

Piso, conspires against Nero, put to 
death, 154-5. 


[ 389 ] 


INDEX: PART I 


Plancina, wife of Cneius Piso, death 
of, 60. 

Plautinus, Aulus, mentioned by 
Suetonius, probably Rubellius 
Plautus, 148 (note). 

Plautus, Rubellius, great-grandson 
of Tiberius, 71; murdered by 
Nero, 72, 148. 

Pollio, Asinius, the orator, 36. 

Pompeia, third wife of Julius Cae¬ 
sar, 7. 

Pompeius, Sextus, triumvir, his mur¬ 
der, 23. 

Pompeius, Cneius, triumvir, 21. 

Pompeius, Quintus, father-in-law of 
Julius Caesar, 7. 

Pomponia, first wife of Agrippa, 36. 

Pontifex Maximus, the office of, 
held by Julius Caesar and Augus¬ 
tus, 6, 28. 

Popp,ea, wife of Otho, marries Nero, 
149; instigates him to destroy 
Octavia, 144; falsely accuses Oc- 
tavia, induces Nero to murder 
her rival, 150; her character, 
149; death of her daughter, 152; 
brutally murdered by Nero, 153. 

Popp^a, Sabina. See Sabina. 

Ptolemy, grandson of Mark Antony 
and Cleopatra, put to death by 
Caligula, 84. 

Pulchra, Claudia, uncertainty of 
her relationship to the family 
of Caesar, put to death by Tibe¬ 
rius, 64, 65. 

Q 

Quintilia, conspires against Calig¬ 
ula and tortured by him, 92 . 

R 

Regulus, Memmius, the consul, his 
wife Lollia taken from him by Ca¬ 
ligula, 89; his high character and 
Nero’s remarkable tribute, 90. 


S 

Sabina, Poppaea, mother of Poppaea, 
murdered by Messalina, 153. 

Scipio, first husband of Scribonia, 30. 

Scribonia, wife of Augustus, 30-1. 

Scribonia, mother of Crassus Frugi, 
murder of> 113. 

Sejanus, iDlius, praetorian prefect 
under Tiberius, his unscrupulous 
character and evil designs, 62 ; 
seduces Livia and induces her 
to poison Drusus, 63; destroys 
the family of Germanicus, 63-5; 
persuades the Emperor to with¬ 
draw to Capri, is suspected, ac¬ 
cused, condemned to death and 
his wife and children murdered, 
66, 67. 

Seneca, Nero’s preceptor, 133; exiled 
because of an intrigue with Ju¬ 
lia, daughter of Germanicus, 140 
(note 2 ); participates in murder of 
Agrippina, 146; death of, 147. 

Servilia, daughter of Soranus, mur¬ 
dered by Nero, l6l. 

Sextia, mother of Lucius Vetus, 
murdered by Nero, 160 . 

Silana, Junia, the divorced wife of 
Caius Silius, accuses Agrippina 
of conspiracy, 144; her unhappy 
life, her death, ibid. 

Silanus, Appius Junius, husband 
of ^Emilia Lepida, great-grand¬ 
daughter of Augustus, compelled 
by Messalina to marry Lepida, 
incurs the displeasure of the 
Empress, who instigates Claudius 
to put him to death, 112; the 
fate of his children, 112. 

Silanus, Marcus, put to death by 
Caligula, 83. 

Silanus, Decius, a lover of Julia, 
granddaughter of Augustus, ban¬ 
ished by the first Emperor, 82. 


[ 390 ] 


INDEX: PART I 


Silanus, Lucius, betrothed to Oc- 
tavia, the daughter of Claudius, 
disgraced and compelled to com¬ 
mit suicide by Agrippina, 119. 

Silanus, Marcus J unius, the “ Golden 
Sheep,” 137; proconsul of Asia, 
poisoned by Agrippina, 138. 

Silanus, Torquatus, suicided by 
Nero’s order, 138. 

Silanus, Lucius Junius Torquatus, 
the last male Caesar excepting 
Nero, 157; murdered by Nero, 
his noble death, 158; his high 
character, his ancestry, “ the last 
spark of virtue,” 157, 159- 

Silius, Caius, brother-in-law of Ca¬ 
ligula, 83, 114; is compelled by 
Messalina to divorce his wife and 
marry the Empress, 114, 115. 

Soranus, Bareas, his high character, 
l 60 ; falls a victim to Nero’s deter¬ 
mination to “extirpate virtue,” 
161. 

Sylla, the Dictator, banishes J ulius 
Caesar, spares his life, prophesies 
his future greatness, 7. 

Sylla, Cornelius, son-in-law of 
Claudius, murdered by Nero, 
148. 

T 

Taurus, Statilius, great-grandfather 
of the second Messalina, wife of 
Nero, 155. 

The Three Men, 23. 

Tiberius, the Emperor, his birth 
and ancestry, 46-7; esteemed 
by Augustus, early public ap¬ 
pointments, military successes, 
47; marries Agrippina, reluc¬ 
tantly divorces her and marries 
Julia, daughter of Augustus, 
48-9; repudiates Julia and re¬ 
tires from Rome, 49; returns to 
Rome, is adopted by Augustus 
and engages actively in affairs 


of State, 50; his hypocrisy upon 
being tendered the purple, 51; 
personal appearance, traits, and 
habits, his military ability, 51, 
53; estimate of his character, 
prophetic remark of Augustus, 
53, 54; adopts his nephew Ger- 
manicus, 43; his posterity, 55 
et seq pride in his grandchil¬ 
dren, 56; considered an acces¬ 
sory in murder of Germanicus, 
60; appoints Sejanus praetorian 
prefect, 62; Sejanus poisons his 
mind against Agrippina, 63; ban¬ 
ishes Agrippina and drives her to 
suicide, shameful remarks about 
her, 64, 70; hatred of the chil¬ 
dren of Germanicus and murder 
of Nero and Drusus, 65, 68-9; 
his remarkable conduct upon the 
death of Drusus, 69; withdraws 
to Capri, distrust of Sejanus, who 
is charged with conspiracy by the 
Emperor and put to death, 67; 
puts to death his daughter-in-law 
Livia, unconcern at death of his 
son, 68; unconcern at death of 
his mother, 70; his great cruelty 
and depravity, 70, 72; retires to 
Misenum, his despairing letter 
to the Senate, 72; smothered to 
death by Macro, his body thrown 
into the Tiber, 73. S. Baring- 
Gould’s Estimate of, Note to Chap. 
XII, 182. 

Tiberius Gemellus, grandson of 
Tiberius, 56; named by Tiberius 
as one of the imperial heirs, 
with Caligula, but dispossessed 
and murdered by the latter, 71. 

Tigellinus, prompts Nero to many 
crimes, 147. 

Tiridates, the Parthian King, lav¬ 
ishly entertained by Nero, 134. 

Triumvirate, the First, 21. 

Triumvirate, the Second, 22. 


[ 391 ] 



INDEX: PART I 


U 

Urgulanilla, Plautia, wife of Clau¬ 
dius, is divorced by him, 104-5. 

V 

Vestinus, Atticus, first husband of 
the second Messalina, wife of 
Nero, 155; Tacitus’s graphic de¬ 
scription of his murder by Nero, 
156. 

Vetus, Lucius Antistius, father-in- 
law of Rubellius Plautus, put to 
death by Nero, 159. 

Vindex, Julius, Roman general in 


Gaul, rebels against Nero, 162 ; 
rails at the Emperor as “ a piti¬ 
ful harper,” 163. 

V inicius, Marcus, husband of Julia, 
daughter of Germanicus, poisoned 
by Messalina, 111, 112. 

W 

Washington, compared with Caesar, 
17. 

X 

Xenophon, court physician, as¬ 
sists in the murder of Claudius, 
124. 


[ 392 ] 


INDEX: PART II 


\ dolphus, successor of Alaric, 361. 

■*** Adrianople, battle of, 326. 

-ZEmilianus, M. Aurelius, Emperor, 
276-7. 

ASmilianus, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 289- 

Aetius, Roman general, under Pla- 
cidia, 364. 

Afer, Domitius, historian of Tibe¬ 
rius, 230. 

Africanus, Scipio, founds colony in 
Spain, 222. 

Alaric, invasion of Italy, 360. 

Angelo, Michael, 315. 

Anthemius, Emperor, 372, 373. 

Antinous, favorite of the Emperor 
Hadrian, 227. 

Antiochus, proclaimed Emperor by 
the Saracens, 298. 

Antoninus, Titus Aurelius Fulvus 
Boionius Arrius ("Pius” Antoni¬ 
nus), Emperor, 227, 230. 

Aper, praetorian prefect under Nu- 
merianus, 307, 308. 

Arbogastes, general under Valen- 
tinian II, 355, 358, 359- 

Arcadius, Emperor of the East, 359- 

Arch of Titus, 217. 

Artaxerxes, invades Roman Asia, 
264. 

Attila, invasion of Italy, 364, 365. 

Augustine, St., 216 . 

Augustulus, Romulus, last Roman 
Emperor, 374. 

Aurelian (L. Domitius Aurelianus), 
Emperor, 297-300. 

Aurelius, Marcus, Emperor, 230-3. 

Aureolus, Emperor, one of the 


"Thirty Tyrants,” 286, 289, 290, 
291. 

Avitus, Emperor, 368, 370. 

B 

Balbinus, Decimus Caelius, Emperor, 
268 - 70 . 

Balista, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 285. 

Bassianus, Caesar, brother-in-law of 
Constantine, 325, 332. 

Bassianus, Julius, priest of the Sun 
at Emesa, 249. 

Bassianus. See Caracalla and Elaga- 
balus. 

BljEsus, poisoned by Vitellius, 212. 

Britannicus, educated with the 
sons of Vespasian, 217. 

Byzantium, capital of the Empire 
of the East, 333. 

C 

Cecina, consul under Vitellius, 213. 

CiENis, a mistress of Vespasian, 217. 

Candidianus, son of the Emperor 
Galerius, put to death by Licin- 
ius, 324. 

Capella, Statilius, a Roman knight, 
217. 

Capito, Fortenis, assumes imperial 
rights in Lower Germany, 211. 

Caracalla (Bassianus), Emperor, 
250-5. 

Carinus, Emperor, 307-9- 

Carus, Marcus Aurelius, Emperor, 
306-7. 

Castle of St. Angelo, 228. 

Celsis, Emperor, one of the "Thirty 
Tyrants,” 289- 

Chalons, battle of, 364. 


[ 393 ] 


INDEX: PART II 


Chrysopolis, battle of, 326. 

Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Clau¬ 
dius), Emperor, 293-6. 

Cleander, favorite of Commodus, 
238. 

Clodius Albinus, Emperor, 243-6. 

Commodus, Marcus Lucius iElius, 
Emperor, 235-9. 

Constans, Emperor, 334-6. . 

Constantia, Empress, wife of Licin- 
ius, 323. 

Constantia, Flavia, Empress, wife 
of Gratian, 353. 

Constantina, sister of Constan- 
tius II, 336, 337. 

Constantine, Flavius Valerius Au¬ 
relius (the Great), Emperor, 316, 
326-34. 

Constantine II, Emperor, life of, 
334-5. 

Constantine, a Roman soldier, res¬ 
cues and marries Placidia, 362. 

Constantinople, building of, 333. 

Constantius I (Flavius “Chlorus”), 
Emperor, 311-16. 

Constantius II, Emperor, life of, 
334-8. 

Council of Nice, 330. 

Crassus, a Roman senator, attempts 
to assassinate Trajan, 224. 

Cremona, destroyed by Flavians, 214. 

Crispina, Empress, wife of Commo¬ 
dus, banished to Capri, 238. 

Crispus, son of Constantine, 331; 
put to death by Constantine, 332. 

Cyriades, Emperor, one of the 
“Thirty Tyrants,” 285. 

D 

Dalmatius, nephew of Constantine, 
334. 

Daza. See Maximin Daza. 


Decius, C. Messius Quintus Tra- 
janus. Emperor, 273-5. 

Diadumenianus, son of Emperor 
Macrinus, proclaimed Caesar, 256. 

Didius, Emperor, 241-2. 

Diocletian (Marcus Aurelius Vale¬ 
rius Diocletianus), Emperor, 308- 
315. 

Dion, statement of murders under 
Commodus, 237. 

Dolabella, Cornelius, victim of Vi- 
tellius, 212. 

Domitian, Emperor, 217-18. 

Domitilla, Flavia, Empress, wife of 
Vespasian, 216 , 222. 

Domna, Julia, Empress, wife of Se- 
verus, 249, 252. 

E 

Edict of Milan, 330. 

Elagabalus, the sun-god, 249. 

Elagabalus (Varius Avitus Bassia- 
nus), 258-61. 

Emesa, black stone of, 259, 262 . 

Eudoxia, Empress, wife of Valen- 
tinian II, 366, 368. 

Eudoxia, wife of Theodosius II, 
Emperor of the East, 366 (note). 

Eudoxia, daughter of Valentinian 
III, 366. 

Eugenius, tool of Arbogastes, 358. 

Eusebia, Empress, wife of Constan¬ 
tius II, 337, 338. 

Eusebius, baptizes Constantine, 334. 

Eutropia, killed by Magnentius, 
336. 

F 

Fausta, Empress, wife of Constan¬ 
tine, 331. 

Faustina, Annia, Empress, wife of 
Elagabalus, 260. 


[ 394 ] 


INDEX: PART II 


Faustina, Empress, wife of Titus 
Antoninus, 229 , 232. 

Flaccilla, iElia, Empress, wife of 
Theodosius, 359. 

Florian (M. Annius Florianus), 
Emperor, 303. 

G 

Galba, Servius Sulpicius, Emperor, 
207, 212. 

Galerius, Emperor, 311, 320. 

Galla, Empress, wife of Theodo¬ 
sius, 354, 358, 359. 

Gallienus, Emperor, 278-91. 

Gallus, C. Vibius Trebonianus, 
Emperor, 275-8. 

Genseric, King of the Vandals, Eu- 
doxia makes overtures to, 367; 
promises to molest Italy no more, 
371. 

Geta, Emperor, 250, 251. 

Glycerius, Emperor, 373. 

Gordian I, Emperor, 267-8. 

Gordian II, Emperor, 268. 

Gordian III, Emperor, 270-2. 

Gratian, Emperor, 348-53. 

Gundobald, succeeds Ricimer, the 
"King-maker,” 373. 

H 

Hadrian (Publius iElius Hadria- 
nus), Emperor, 225-8. 

Hannibalianus, nephew of Constan¬ 
tine, 334. 

Helena, Julia Fla via ("St. He¬ 
lena”), mother of Constantine, 
326, 327. 

Herrennius, Quintus, son of the 
Emperor Decius, proclaimed Cae¬ 
sar, 274. 

Honoria, granddaughter of Theodo¬ 
sius, romantic career of, 364, 366. 

Honorius, Emperor, 359-61. 


Hostilianus, Valens, son of the 
Emperor Decius, proclaimed Cae¬ 
sar, 274; associated in the Em¬ 
pire, 275. 

I 

Ingenuus, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 289, 290. 

J 

John, Emperor, 361-3. 

Jovian, Emperor, 344-6. 

Julia, daughter of Titus, 218; mar¬ 
ries her uncle Domitian, 220. 

Julian, Emperor, 335, 338-43. 

Justina, Empress, wife of Valen- 
tinian, 348, 352, 354. 

L 

LjElianus, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 283. 

LjETUs, assists in killing Commodus, 
239; moves to make Pertinax 
Emperor, 240; his great cavalry 
charge, 245. 

Lampridius, characterization of 
Commodus, 235, 237; accuses 
Julia Soaemias, 259. 

Licinianus, Piso, murder of, by 
Otho, 209. 

Licinianus, son of the Emperor 
Licinius, put to death by Con¬ 
stantine, 332. 

Licinius, Emperor, 316-26. 

Longina, Domitia, Empress, wife 
of Domitian, 220. 

Lucilla, mother of Marcus Aure¬ 
lius, 230. 

Lucilla, sister of Commodus, wife 
of Lucius Aurelius Veras, 231, 
236. 

M 

Macrianus, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 285, 288. 


[ 395 ] 


INDEX: PART II 


Macrinus, Marcus Opelius, Em¬ 
peror, 255-9* 

MjEsa, Julia, sister of the Empress 
Julia Domna, 249; banished to 
Emesa, 257. 

Magnentius, Emperor, 336, 337. 

Majorian, Julianus, Emperor, 370, 
371. 

Mam^ea, Julia, sister of Empress 
Julia Domna, 249; banished to 
Emesa, 257; saves the life of her 
son Alexander, 260 , 261 ; charac¬ 
ter of, 262 . 

Marcellinus, grandfather of the 
Emperor Hadrian, 225. 

Marcia, mistress of Commodus, 
238; poisons Commodus, 239- 

Maria, Empress, wife of Honorius, 
360. 

Marius, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 283. 

Maxentius, Emperor, 316, 323. 

Maximian, Emperor, 311-24. 

Maximin I (Caius Julius Verus), 
Emperor, 265, 266 , 269 . 

Maximin II (Daza), Emperor, 
314-24. 

Maximus, Emperor, 352-4. 

Maximus, Petronius, Emperor, 367- 
368. 

Menestheus, chief conspirator 
against Aurelian, death of, 300. 

Minervina, first wife of Constan¬ 
tine, 331. 

Mursa, battle of, 337, 

N 

Nepos, Julius, Emperor, 373. 

Nepotianus, nephew of Constan- 
tius, 336. 

Nerva, Cocceius, Emperor, 220-2. 

Niger, Pescennius, Emperor, 236, 
242, 246. 


Nigrinus, Caius, put to death for 
his conspiracy against Hadrian, 
227. 

Nissa, battle of, 295. 

Numerianus, Emperor, 307-9. 

* O 

Odenathus, Emperor, one of the 
"Thirty Tyrants,” 285-7. 

Odoacer, conqueror of Rome and 
master of the Palatine, 375. 

Olybrius, Emperor, 373. 

Orbiana, Gnea Seia Herennia Sal- 
lustia Barbia, Empress, wife of 
Alexander Severus, 264. 

Orestes, Roman general, 374-5. 

Origen, correspondence with Julia 
Mamaea, 262 . 

Otho, Emperor, life of, 208, 211. 

P 

Papinian, counsellor of Severus, 248; 
death of, 253. 

Perennis, favorite of Commodus, 
238. 

Pertinax, Emperor, 236, 239, 243. 

Philip (M. Julius Philippus), Em¬ 
peror, 271-3. 

Philippus, M. Junius, son of the 
Emperor Philip, proclaimed Cae¬ 
sar, 272. 

Pipa, favorite of Gallienus, 281. 

Piso, Calpurnius, Emperor, one of 
the "Thirty Tyrants,” 288. 

Placidia, daughter of Theodosius, 
359; detained by Alaric as hos¬ 
tage, 362; delegated to exercise 
imperial power, 363, 364. 

Placidia, Empress, wife of Oly¬ 
brius, 368. 

Plautianus, prefect under Severus, 
251. 


[ 396 ] 


INDEX: PART II 


Plautilla, Empress, wife of Cara- 
calla, 251. 

Pliny, panegyrics of, 223. 

Plotina, Empress, wife of Trajan, 
223, 225. 

Pompeianus, son-in-law of Marcus 
Aurelius, 232. 

Pomponius, general under Maxen- 
tius, 322. 

Postumus, Emperor, one of the 
“Thirty Tyrants,” 282. 

Prisca, Empress, wife of Diocletian, 
315, 324. 

Priscus, brother of the Emperor 
Philip, 273. 

Probus, Emperor, 299, 303-6. 

Procopius, favorite general of Ju¬ 
lian, 342, 343, 349. 

Pupienus, Clodius, Maximus, Em¬ 
peror, 268-70. 

Q 

Quadratus, friend of Lucilla, sister 
of Commodus, 236. 

Quietus, Emperor, one of the 
“Thirty Tyrants,” 286. 

Quintillus, M. Aurelius, Emperor, 
296-7. 

R 

Ravenna, battle of, 36l. 

Regalianus, Emperor, one of the 
“Thirty Tyrants,” 290 . 

Ricimer, Count, the “King-maker,” 
369, 373. 

Rome, sacked by the Goths under 
Alaric, 360. 

s 

Sabina, Empress, wife of Hadrian, 
225. 

Sallust, praetorian prefect, tendered 
the purple, 344, 346. 


Salonina, Empress, wife of Gallie- 
nus, 281. 

Saloninus, Caesar, son of the Em¬ 
peror Gallienus, 282. 

Sapor, King of Persia, captures the 
Emperor Valerian, 280. 

Saturninus, Emperor, one of the 
“Thirty Tyrants,” 288. 

Saxa Rubra, battle of, 322. 

SciEVOLA, jurisconsult, 246. 

Serena, niece of Theodosius, 360. 

Severa, Marcia Otacilia, Empress, 
wife of Philip, 272. 

Severa, Julia Aquilia, Empress, wife 
of Elagabalus, 260. 

Severa, Valeria, Empress, wife of 
Valentinian I, 348. 

Severianus, son of the Emperor 
Severus, coadjutor of Galerius, 
324. 

Severus, Septimius, Emperor, life of, 
236, 239, 242, 246, 250. 

Severus, Alexander, Emperor, 260, 
261, 265. 

Severus, Emperor, 314, 316, 318. 

Severus, Libius, Emperor, 372. 

Six Shadows, 372, 376. 

So^mias, Julia, mother of Elagaba¬ 
lus, 249, 257, 259, 260 , 262. 

Stephanus, assassinates Domitian, 

220 . 

Stilicho, a celebrated Roman gen¬ 
eral under Honorius, 360. 

Sulpicianus, father-in-law of the 
Emperor Pertinax, bids for the 
purple, 241. 

T 

Tacitus, the historian, 207, 209,212. 

Tacitus, M. Claudius, Emperor, 300- 
303. 

Tetricus, Pius Esuvius, Emperor, 


[ 397 ] 


INDEX: PART II 


one of the “ Thirty Tyrants,” 281, 
284. 

Theodora, Empress, wife of Con- 
stantius Chlorus, 312, 330. 

Theodosius, Emperor, 355-9; Em¬ 
peror of the East, 349. 

Theodosius, son of Arcadius, Em¬ 
peror of the East, 362. 

Theodotus, conquers the usurper 
iEmilianus, one of the “Thirty 
Tyrants,” 289. 

Thessalonica, massacre in, 356. 

Thirty Tyrants, the, 282. 

Timesitheus, counsellor of Gordian 
III, 271. 

Titus, Emperor, 216-18. 

Trajan (M. Ulpius Trajanus), Em¬ 
peror, 222-5. 

Tranquillina, Empress, wife of 
Gordian III, 270. 

Trebellianus, Emperor, one of the 
“Thirty Tyrants,” 288, 289- 

U 

Ulpian, jurisconsult, 264. 

V 

Valens, consul under Vitellius, 211, 
213. 

Valens, Emperor, one of the “Thirty 
Tyrants,” 288. 

Valens, Emperor, 349-51. 


Valeria, wife of Galerius, 312, 324. 

Valerian (Publius Licinius Vale- 
rianus). Emperor, 277-80. 

Valentinian I, Emperor, 346, 350. 

Valentinian II, Emperor, 349-51. 

Valentinian III, Emperor, 363-6. 

Verus, Lucius Aurelius, adopted by 
Hadrian, 227; associated in im¬ 
perial power with Marcus Aure¬ 
lius, 231; death, 232. 

Verus, Marcus Annius. See Aure¬ 
lius, Marcus. 

Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasi- 
anus), Emperor, 213, 214, 217, 
219. 

Vetranio, an Illyrian usurper, 336. 

Victorina, mother of the Emperor 
Victorinus, 284. 

Victorinus, Marcus Piavonius, Em¬ 
peror, one of the “Thirty Ty¬ 
rants,” 283. 

Vinius, murdered by Otho, 209. 

V itellius, Aulus, Emperor, 210,211, 
214. 

V olusianus, son of the Emperor 
Gallus, proclaimed Emperor but 
does not reign, 276. 

Z 

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, 286, 
298, 299. 











































































































































































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